








LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 


Shelf 


UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 




* 


























































A Manual of Drainage 

FOR 

FARMERS AND LAND OWNERS. 


CONDENSED INTO THREE CHAPTERS. 


CHAPTER I. 

Contains Tables of Average Temperature, Rainfall, Values 
of Farms in every State and Province of North 
America, with a Series of Tables for Ascer¬ 
taining the Number of Acres Drained 
by Tiles of Different Sizes. 

CHAPTER II. 

Remarks upon Transportation by Rail, and General 
Remarks upon Railroads. 

CHAPTER III. 

House, Village, Town and City Drainage in General. 



EDWARD WASELL, Civil Engineer 

DETROIT, MICHIGAN, U. S. A. 


DETROIT: 

JOHN F. EBY & CO., PRINTERS, 65 WEST CONGRESS ST. 

1888. 






* 




« 


Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1888, 

By EDWARD WASELL, 

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, 
at Washington, D. C. 






PREFACE. 


“ A bold peasantry, tlieir country’s pride, 

When once destroyed can never be supplied.” 

Somebody lias said that “ He who is the means of mak¬ 
ing two blades of grass grow where only one grew before is 
a benefactor of his kind.” With this end in view this little 
book now sees the light. 

This manual of drainage is now submitted to the farmers 
and land owners, with a sincere wish that they may receive 
as much benefit from its perusal as the author lias received 
from the study of so interesting a subject. 

The tables are original, and they will enable any one to 
answer the question, “ What size of pipe do I require to 
drain my land ?” They are the result of extensive reading, 
scattered among numerous papers, pamphlets and books, 
while actively engaged upon drainage work. 

The chapter on drainage of villages, towns and cities 
comprises the essential knowledge most wanting, in our 
opinion, and without which no sewerage works can be satis¬ 
factory. In preparing this chapter, recourse has been had 
to the printed reports and papers read before the several 
learned societies, among them the minutes of proceedings of 
the Inst. C. E., and many printed reports on sewerage by 
different authors, both in England and America, in order 
that, though brief, it may be reliable. 

While believing that agriculture is the foundation of all 
permanent prosperity, and that without prosperous farmers 
all other industries must eventually languish, this little • 
book is respectfully inscribed to the farmers of North 
America 


BY THE AUTHOR. 





















I 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER I. 

Page 

Estimated value of farms in North America. 8 

Estimated earnings of farms in North America. 10 

Drainage of lands in North America. 10 

Diagram No. 1, illustrating drainage in North America. 12 

Table No. 1—Velocity of water in drains. 20 

Table No. 2—Cubic feet . 21 

Table No. 8—Cubic feet. 22 

Table No. 4—Cubic feet ... 23 

Table No. 5—Cubic feet. 24 

Table No. 6—Cubic feet. 25 

Draining the prairies of the Northwest. . 25 

Diagram No. 2, illustrating drainage. 27 

Table No. 7—Proportional ratio of fall in ten feet. 42 

Showing how to lay out drains. 42 

CHAPTER II. 

Transportation an important element to be considered. 46 

CHAPTER III. 

Village, town and city drainage. 51 

Water supply. 54 

Drainage a preventive of disease. 56 

Sewers should be self-cleansing. 57 

Sewer pipes. 58 

Bricks. 59 

Cement. 60 

Ventilation. 61 

The “separate system,” sewage farms, etc. 66 

Sewers flushed with water a necessity..*. 66 




















































CHAPTER I. 


Those who may search herein for something of literary 
interest will be disappointed. This has been written for 
common men of common sense, who have not time to study 
excellencies of style or diction. What a misnomer to say 
common sense, when it is the most uncommon sense. 
Though agriculture is of a common nature, it is not so 
unimportant an industry as certain people think, or appear 
to think, it is. A moment’s reflection will convince thd 
most of us that all the people upon this earth must live off 
the productions of the soil. The earth is the great mother 
—the foundation and fountain of sustenance to every one 
who lives upon it. 

While the factories may flourish, wealth abound, and the 
protected professions and businesses revel in luxuries, the 
farmer, though he had the start of them all, languishes 
in the race; and it is no uncommon thing to hear said, 
“ farming does not pay,” while the active brains of the 
coming generation of farmers are thinking of entering 
the “ hives of industiy” in order to study law, medicine 
and other protected professions, trades and businesses. 
Why farmers should be interested in the legislation of 
the country will appear from the following statement of 
values. The value of each State has been arrived at by 
capitalizing the average annual value of farm products for 
the last three years, less operating expenses, at current rates 



8 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


of interest. This is the true way of estimating the value of 
a farm or a State, because property is worth what it will 
fetch in open market. The amount capitalized for which a 
farmer sells his produce, after deducting working expenses, 
is the value of his farm. Suppose a farmer realizes $1,000 
per year from his farm ; then, having regard for the value 
of money, his farm is worth about $20,000, for money is 
worth about 5 per cent. 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE 


9 


TABLE showing Average Temperature, Rainfall and Estimated Average Net Value of 

Farms in North America. 


Name of State 
or Territory. 

Area in 
Square 
Miles. 

Estimated 
Total Value 
of Farms. 

' No. of 
Farms. 

Estimated 
Value, 
per acre. 

Average 

Temperature, 

Fah. 

Average 

Rainfall. 

Cleared 

AVood- 

land. 

Sum¬ 

mer. 

Winter. 

United States— 






Deg. 

Dee. 

Inches. 

Alabama. 

5-?,250 

$120 000,000 

135,865 

$6 50 

$4 10 

79 to 82 

46 to 

52 

55 

Arizona. 

110,020 

9,000,000 




71 “ 

72 

34 “ 


14 

Arkansas. 

53,850 

117,500,000 

94,450 

ii so 

3 50 

79 “ 

82 

42 “ 

51 

40 to 55 

California. 

158,360 

395,000,000 

35,940 

27 20 

8 60 

58 “ 

69 

50 “ 

55 

20 

Colorado. 

103,925 

55,100,000 




72 “ 

74 

25 “ 

37 

15 to £0 

Connecticut. 

4,990 

180*200*000 

£0,600 

29 00 

24 50 

68 “ 

74 

27 “ 

40 

44 

Dakota. 

149,100 

62.200,000 




63 “ 

71 

6 “ 

27 

17 

Delaware. 

2,050 

55,000,000 

6,660 

19 00 

15 00 

69 “ 

74 

30 “ 

38 

50 

Dist. of Columbia 

170 

5,500,000 









Florida. 

58,680 

30.200,000 

23,440 

9 50 

3 10 

80 “ 

83 

55 “ 

61 

57 

Georgia. 

59,475 

168,000,000 

62,105 

6 95 

5 45 

79 “ 

83 

46 “ 

52 

48 

Idaho. 

84,800 

9,100,000 




68 “ 

75 

30 “ 

40 

18 

Illinois. 

56,650 

1,500,000,000 

255,745 

33 00 

23 00 

76 “ 

80 

25 “ 

37 

35 

Indiana. 

36,350 

960.000,000 

194.015 

30 50 

27 00 

73 “ 

78 

29 “ 

41 

43 

Indian Territory. 

64,690 

31,5(0,000 




77 “ 

82 

35 “ 

48 

20 to 36 

Iowa... 

56.025 

890,000.000 

185 355 

27 40 

39 40 

70 “ 

76 

21 “ 

37 

43 

Kansas. 

82,080 

450 000,000 

10,500 

12 00 

19 00 

74 “ 

79 

25 “ 

35 

31 

Kentucky. 

40,400 

455,000,000 

166,460 

18 90 

12 90 

75 “ 

80 

34 “ 

44 

49 

Louisiana. 

48,720 

177,800,000 

48,300 

14 40 

3 60 

81 “ 

83 

53 “ 

61 

51 

Maine. 

33,040 

152,000 000 

64.310 

12 90 

12 70 

60 “ 

69 

23 11 

38 

45 

Maryland . 

12,210 

245,000,000 

40,600 

24 70 

35 50 

73 “ 

79 

33 “ 

41 

41 

Massachusetts... 

8,315 

220 000,000 

38,410 

85 00 

43 30 

66 “ 

71 

27 u 

38 

45 

Michigan. 

58,915 

740,000,000 

154,010 

34 40 

20 30 

67 “ 

82 

20 “ 

36 

30 

Minnesota . 

83,365 

300,000.000 

140,000 

20 00 

15 00 

67 “ 

74 

5 “ 

30 

25 

Mississippi. 

46,810 

174,600.000 

111,880 

7 90 

3 80 

80 “ 

83 

47 “ 

56 

54 

Missouri. 

69,415 

600,000,000 

215 580 

14 55 

8 30 

75 “ 

80 

30 “ 

43 

42 

Montana . 

146,080 

44,500,000 




55 “ 

65 

17 “ 

30 

12 

Nebraska. 

76*885 

213,000,000 

63,390 

8 95 

25 90 

72 “ 

78 

20 “ 

24 

25 

Nevada. 

110,100 

22,000,000 

1,410 



66 “ 

73 

30 “ 

38 

20 

New Hampshire. 

9,305 

115,000,000 

32.190 

15 00 

32 00 

63 “ 

69 

23 “ 

38 

40 

New Jersey. 

7.815 

285,000,000 

34,310 

82 60 

56 90 

66 “ 

73 

32 “ 

42 

45 

New Mexico. 

122,580 

37,500 000 




66 “ 

70 

27 “ 

37 

17 

New York . 

49,170 

1.522,000,000 

241.000 

58 50 

40 90 

67 “ 

73 

22 “ 

36 

32 

North Carolina .. 

52,250 

204,000,000 

157,610 

9 80 

5 55 

76 “ 

80 

46 “ 

51 

43 

Ohio. 

41,060 

1,687,000,000 

247,200 

47 60 

41 40 

68 “ 

73 

27 “ 

38 

38 

Oregon . 

96,030 

61,700,000 

16,220 

21 80 

4 50 

62 “ 

68 

38 “ 

46 

22 to 64 

Pennsylvania.... 

45,215 

1,464,000,000 

156,360 

45 80 

29 80 

70 “ 

75 

31 “ 

42 

44 

Rhode Island.... 

1.250 

39,000,000 

6,220 



64 “ 

71 

29 “ 

43 

42 

South Carolina . 

30,570 

103,000,000 

93,870 

6 25 

8 65 

79 11 

83 

50 “ 

54 

43 

Tennessee. 

42,050 

310.000,000 

165,650 

13 00 

7 30 

75 “ 

81 

37 “ 

48 

45 

Texas . 

265,780 

260,000,000 

174,200 

9 00 

4 00 

82 “ 

84 

53 “ 

63 

33 

Utah. 

84,970 

21,500,000 

9,455 



69 “ 

77 

29 “ 

40 

24 

Vermont. 

9,565 

163,000,000 

35.530 

15 30 

17 80 

66 “ 

71 

18 “ 

33 

34 

Virginia . 

42.450 

324,000,000 

118,520| 

9 45 

7 50 

75 “ 

80 

40 “ 

48 

38 

AVashington 

69.180 

52,200,000 




59 “ 

62 

37 “ 

44 

24 to 143 

AVest Virginia ... 

24,780 

200.000,000 

62,700 

2i 10 

9 40 

70 “ 

75 

34 “ 

42 

45 

AVisconsin. 

56,040 

537,000,000 

102,950 

26 30 

19 60 

63 “ 

70 

19 “ 

31 

30 

AVyoming. 

97,890 

61,364,000 




63 “ 

69 

23 “ 

33| 

15 

Total. 

3,019,270 

15,829,524,000 






British Posses- 









sions — 











Rritish Columbia' 

361.346 

6,000,000 




AS to 62 

36 to 43 

50 

Manitoba. 

123 200 

52,100 000 




55 “ 

85 

-10 “ 

10 

17 

New Brunswick.. 

27,174 

52,050,000 




60 “ 

66 

10 “ 

35 

50 

N W. Territories 

2,665*076 

8,600,000 




^5 4 ‘ 

85 

-10 “ 

10 

17 

Nova. Scotia. 

20,907 

54,400,000 




GO “ 

70 

10 “ 

40 

50 

Ontario 

221 ^733 

540,000,000 



. 

60 “ 

85 

10 “ 

40 

30 

P F, Island 

2,133 

20,88(h000 


. 

. 

34 “ 

70 

20 “ 

30 

50 

Quebec . 

188,688 

250.980.000 



. 

. 

30 “ 

85 

0 “ 

30 

40 

Total, Canada.. 

3,610,257 

991,010.000 







Grand Total... 

6.629 527 , 

16,820.534.000 































































































































































10 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

These estimates include all farm property and products, 
such as buildings, farm implements, live stock, orchard pro¬ 
duce, rice, peas, beans, potatoes, turnips, cotton, sugar, 
molasses, tobacco, hay, oats, barley, wheat, corn, wool, flax, 
hemp, rye, maple sugar, etc. 

Thus it is shown that the yearly value of farm produc¬ 
tions, etc., of the United States and Canada, after deduct¬ 
ing reasonable working expenses, interest on the invest¬ 
ments, etc.—for whether the farmer owns the farm or rents 
it makes no difference in this case—when capitalized at 
about 5 per cent, sums up to the enormous amount of 
$16,820,534,000. What becomes of the absurd contention 
of certain “ politicians ” who say that the farmers’ occupation 
is small and inconsiderable when compared with that of the 
manufacturers? For the year 1888 the total earnings 
of farmers in North America, may be estimated, for the 
United States $3,388,150,000 ; and for Canada $251,890,000. 

Drainage. 

Without further preliminaries we now proceed to discuss 
drainage. The following tables, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, 
were prepared originally for a friend, but having used them 
in our own practice, and found them of value, we deter¬ 
mined to publish them along with some other memoranda, 
gathered from time to time, the result of which is this 
hand-book of drainage. 

The first thing to be done in undertaking drainage works 
is to select an outlet. This point will usually be at the low¬ 
est part of the farm or into a running stream. The com¬ 
mon law—which is common sense—gives a farmer a right 
to drain into a stream, even if on his neighbor’s farm, and 
to drain his natural water, that is, the rain which falls from 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


11 


the clouds, wherever it runs naturally. The neighbor but 
receives what nature intended he should receive, but arti¬ 
ficial drainage accelerates nature in her operation of carry¬ 
ing the water to its natural outlet. 

Each drain may have an independent outlet, or all the 
drains may run into one main drain with one proper outlet. 
Each drain, where practicable, should be cut at right angles 
to the slope of the ground, and at its outlet be protected by 
a wooden box with an iron grating, or some other device or 
contrivance for effectively preventing vermin from getting 
into it and building nests or creating any obstructions to the 
free flow of water through the drains. 

As much fall as practicable should be given to all drains, 
unless the farm is situated on hilly ground, where the fall 
for drains will always be ample; but much more skill and 
exactness are required in laying out drains of small fall, and 
such drains will cost the farmer more for skilled labor if he 
intends that the drains shall be effective. 

The next thing to decide is the depth and distance apart 
to put the drains. One is dependent on the other. A mo¬ 
ment’s reflection will show us that all water, whether poured 
on land from the clouds or put on in some other way, will 
sink, by the law of gravity, to the lowest level. Our drain 
should intercept it on its wav to the lower level. There is 
the friction dependent on the porosity of the soil to retard 
its flow on its passage down to the drain. 

In a great portion of North America the frost penetration 
is considerable. In all circumstances the drain should be 
down below the frost-line. However deep it may be to the 
frost line, unless in the polar regions, so far will the earth 
be disintegrated and pulverized by the action of frost, and 
so easily receive the rainfall. Now, the rain penetrating 


12 


MANUAL OF DK AIN AGE. 


the soil, falls at a certain angle or inclination until it reaches 
the drain built to receive it. This angle or rate of inclina¬ 
tion will depend upon the rapidity and compactness of the 
rainfall, the nature and porosity of the soil, the steepness 



or flatness of the ground, the temperature of the atmosphere, 
and other things affecting it less or more. 

We will first deal with a free soil, tolerably level, which 
includes gravels, sands, peats, loams and every kind of 
mixed earth, which compose, probably, the greater bulk of 
soils in North America. Of these soils Liebegsays: u Lands 
of the greatest fertility contain argillaceous earth and other 






































































































































































13 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

disintegrating minerals, with chalk and sand in such pro¬ 
portion as to give free access to air and moisture.” In order 
to drain this sort of land we may place the drains, generally, 
80 feet apart and 5 feet deep, as is shown in diagram No. 
1. The water, it is estimated, will percolate through this 
kind of soil at an inclination of one in ten, thus leaving 
over a foot deep of drained land in the middle of each 
space of 80 feet between drains. Let the foregoing dia¬ 
gram represent a quarter section, or 160 acres. Then the 
dotted line will represent the limits of the quarter section. 
Let the solid black lines represent drains. Then the quar¬ 
ter section is divided by main drains A J G D B, emptying 
into the river, stream or other outlet at A; and the sub- 
mains I J K, F G II and C D E empty into the mai.: drain 
at J, G and D respectively. From inspection we find that 
the quarter section of 160 acres is divided for drainage pur¬ 
poses into six equal parts, and in those six equal parts, of 
nearly 27 acres each, there are sixteen minor drains, all 
joining the sub-mains I J K, F G H and 0 D E at com¬ 
mon junctions. 

Now, allowing the fall to be uniformly 1 in 400, and the 
rainfall 30 inches per annum, we have to provide as fol¬ 
lows (see Table No. 4): 


Portion AJ, 440 lineal feet of 9-inch pipe at 8c. $35 20 

“ JG, 880 “ 7 “ 5J4c . 48 40 

“ GD, 880 “ 6 “ 4c. 35 20 

“ DB, 400 “ 2 “ lc. 4 00 

sub-mains 3,840 “ 3 “ lJ4c... 48 00 

14 “ 3,840 “ 2 “ lc. 38 40 

Minors 76,800 “ 2 “ lc. 768 00 

$977 20 

87,080 lineal feet of trenching and sundries. 4,354 00 

Total cost..$5,331 20 

or total cost about $33.32 per acre. 













14 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


We could hardly get a case exactly like this except on 
the prairies, but this example serves to illustrate the use of 
the tables. We take AJ, a 9-inch pipe, because at a fall of 
1 in 400 the table gives 200 acres, and the whole quarter 
section must drain through the pipe here; and we take this 
as it is always best for the pipes to be on the safe side, a 
little too large. The next portion, JG, takes the water 
through it that comes into the main pipe at the junction G ; 
this is evidently'two-thirds of the 160 acres, or nearly 107 
acres rainfall. The table gives this nearly exactly. The 
next portion of the main pipe is GD ; this has to take the 
remaining third, or a little over 53 acres rainfall, which the 
table gives—taking the next higher figure—75 acres, which 
takes a 6-inch pipe. Now, the last portion of the main pipe 
has but to carry off the rainfall of a few acres, so we make 
it 2 inches in diameter. 

The portions of the sub-mains, next the main drains, have 
to carry more water than those portions next the limits, 
consequently, we make them 3 inches in diameter, and the 
balance the same as the minor drains, 2 inches in diameter* 
The prices of labor and material, of course, will vary. 

Wetness of soil is often produced by water confined fur¬ 
ther down below the surface than the usual depth of drains. 

An impervious sub-soil will often demand drains closer 
together than 80 feet, and, consequently, more of them than 
where the soil is porous. The texture of the subsoils must 
be consulted, and the depths of drains, if below the frost 
line, proportioned accordingly. 

To form an approximation of how deep to dig trenches 
for drains, begin by putting down one drain five feet deep, 
then dig a hole at a point 40 feet on one side, and if the 
water stands in it 12 hours after a rain-storm at less than 


15 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

one foot from the surface, then 80 feet will be too wide 
apart for the drains. Try again in another place by digging 
a hole 20 feet from one side, and if the water is there at 2 
feet below the surface, its inclination on flowing into the 
drain is about one in seven, and the drains must be about 50 
feet apart to leave over a foot of dry land between drains, 
or 40 feet apart if but 4 feet deep. Stiff clay soil may 
require to be drained, where the frost admits of it, at shorter 
distances between the drains,—say at 40 feet apart and 4 
feet deep; thus admitting the soil to become aerated and 
pulverized by the weather. The use of an auger, in some 
cases, will facilitate the operation of determining how deep 
it may be necessary to lay drains in order that they may do 
their work effectively. But there can be no doubt that 
deep underdraining promotes the aeration and disintegration 
of the soil to a greater extent, generally, than shallower 
drains. 

Any depth less than three feet will generally prove unsat¬ 
isfactory. 

«/ 

It is to be expected that the general drainage of the land 
will lead to floods, as the water will be brought off the soil 
much more rapidly than before. The rivers and streams 
will be swollen proportionately, so that a good outlet is 
almost a sine qua non in every system of drainage. 

Explanation of the Tables. —Table No. 1 shows the 
velocity per second of water flowing through ordinary under¬ 
drains open at each joint for the admission of water perco¬ 
lating through the soil, and is calculated from a formula, 
1 fxdx2. where F is the fall per thousand, D is the diam¬ 
eter of the drain, and 2 is a constant, all in feet. Repeated 
experiments, conducted under different conditions, show 
that this formula is as nearly correct as it is possible to be 



16 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


for drains about 4,000 diameters in length. There are peo¬ 
ple who will tell you that more water will flow through a 
pipe than is given by this formula, but if there be such, it 
is questionable whether such persons know what they are 
talking about. A drain is not for the conveyance of water 
under a “head,” such as water in pipes closed at the lower 
end and at each joint, but is, necessarily, open at the outlet 
and at each joint, at about every foot in its length, to admit 
the rainfall which percolates through the soil. Hence, fric¬ 
tion plays an important part in retarding the velocity of 
water flowing through farm drains. 

This table will serve in nearly all circumstances, and, 
where the exact fall is not given in the table, it can be 
supplied by approximation by taking out the next higher 
and lower, and taking the mean of the result, and so on, 
until a satisfactory one is obtained. 

Table Ho. 2 shows the number of cubic feet per second 
of water flowing through farm drains at different inclina¬ 
tions or falls, and of different sizes when flowing full. 
From Tables 1 and 2 the rest have been calculated. 

Tables Hos. 3, 4, 5 and 6 show the number of acres which 
can be drained when the rainfall is 20, 30, 40 and 50 inches 
per annum respectively, by circular drains of different sizes. 
The rainfall does not get into the drain in the manner which 
it does into a sewer, but gradually percolates through the 
soil until the amount of water not carried off by evaporation 
and‘absorption finds its way into the drain. In these tables, 
the evaporation and absorption are estimated at two-thirds 
of the whole rainfall, so that but one-third linds its way into 
the drain, which is near the average in North America. 
The total rainfall in twenty-four hours has been taken at 
two-tenths of an inch for 20 inches rainfall per annum ; 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


17 


three-tenths of an inch for 30 inches rainfall per annum ; 

four-tenths of an inch for 40 inches rainfall per annum ; 

five-tenths of an inch for 50 inches rainfall per annum. 

Much greater falls of rain will occur at intervals, but these 

amounts, when distributed over twenty-four hours, are, it is 
believed, within the mark. 

Twenty inches rainfall is applicable to the following 
named States and Territories : Arizona, parts of California, 
Colorado, Dakota, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, 
Wyoming, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories. 

Thirty inches rainfall: Parts of California, Illinois, Indian 

_ * 

Territory, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New 

York, parts of Oregon, Texas, Vermont, part of Washington 

Territory, Utah, Wisconsin, Ontario, and part of Quebec. 

Forty inches rainfall: Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Mary¬ 
land, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, North 
Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, 
Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. 

Fifty inches rainfall : Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, 
Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, 
New Jersey, parts of Washington Territory, British 
Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward 
Island and parts of Quebec. 

In districts where the rainfall is confined to a portion of 
the year called the “rainy season,” provision may he made 
to carry it off by larger drains. Say, in districts where 
most of the rain falls in three months, Table No. 6 may be 
used. We consider provision for 50 inches of rainfall ample 
for any district, for if the drains did not carry it off in 
twenty-four hours, they would in thirty-six hours after rain 
stopped. 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


8 

Junctions of drains should always be made by junction- 

pipes, made 
thus—which 
are easily ob¬ 
tainable from 

ai^ drain-pipe factory—and joined by a curve in the direc¬ 
tion of the current, to facilitate the flow of water. 

Pipes of less diameter than 2 inches are not recommended 
for underdrains. Such pipes may be of sufficient capacity, 
but the saving made by their adoption would not compen¬ 
sate the farmer for the risk of obstructions which sometimes 
occur in them. 

A drain which has been well made will last fifty years, 
and will pay for itself in from three to five years. Be sure 
to use wooden outlet pieces protected by an iron grating; 
and lay the tiles from the lowest point upwards. 

In sandy, or other very porous soil, put straw in the bottom 
of the drain-trench. In quicksand, use rough hemlock or 
other boards at the bottom of the drain-trench in addition. 
The upper or dead ends of all drains should be stopped up 
with a large stone or wooden plug. 

Pages 2 and 3 contain information referring to temper¬ 
ature, rainfall, etc., which is approximately correct. It 
must be borne in mind that in States and Territories of such 
magnitude, the average temperature and rainfall only is 
given in these estimates. The exact temperature and rain¬ 
fall may be more nearly obtained by persons living in the 
particular district. 

Intending settlers in any of these States or Territories are 
cautioned against the rose-colored representations of paid 
agents of land companies, State or Territorial officials, 
because they will be but doing their duty to their superiors, 











MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


19 


their paymasters, by doing all they can to get settlers. A 
certain professor was recently very enthusiastic about 
obtaining settlers for a Northwestern district, but the 
enthusiasm was accounted for when the 'public accounts 
were published, and his name was mentioned as the recipient 
of large sums of money to induce farmers to settle there. 

If you value your health, and are bound on changing 
your place of abode, select a section of ‘ country in which to 
settle that is not subject to sudden changes, and one that is 
free from malaria. Move with caution, and with all the 
information obtainable from disinterested sources. If such 
information cannot be got, rely upon your own judgment 
rather than upon any other man’s judgment. The numer¬ 
ous agents of land and railroad companies, and the officials 
of the various governments, have it in their power to make 
a man looking for a location very comfortable, by free 
rides, free lunches, and the numerous hospitalities which 
induce a man to be satisfied with his surroundings. 




20 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


TABLE NO. 1. 

Velocity in feet per second of water in farm drains flowing full, with the following falls : 


Fall. 


Inside Diameter of Pipe in Inches. 



2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

12 

15 

18 

21 

24 

1 in 5000. 

.26 

.32 

.37 

.41 

.45 

.48 

.52 

.55 

.58 

.63 

.71 

.77 

.84 

.89 

1 in 4000. 

.28 

.35 

.42 

.46 

.50 

.54 

.57 

.61 

.64 

.71 

.79 

.87 

.93 

1.00 

1 in 3000. 

.33 

.40 

.47 

.52 

.58 

.62 

.66 

.71 

.74 

.81 

.83 

1 .00 

1.03 

1.15 

1 in 2000. 

.41 

.50 

.57 

.64 

.71 

.76 

.82 

.87 

.91 

1.00 

1.12 

1.22 

1.32 

1.41 

1 in 1000. 

.58 

.71 

.82 

.91 

1.00 

1.08 

1.15 

1.22 

1.29 

1.41 

1.58 

1.73 

1.87 

2.00 

1 in 

900. 

.61 

.75 

.86 

.97 

1.06 

1.13 

1.22 

1.29 

1.36 

1.50 

1.63 

1.83 

1.93 

2.12 

1 in 

800. 

.65 

.79 

.90 

1.03 

1.12 

1.19 

1.29 

1.37 

1.44 

1.58 

1.68 

1.93 

2.09 

2.24 

1 in 

700. 

.70 

.84 

.95 

1.10 

1.20 

1.30 

1.38 

1.47 

1.55 

l.lO 

1.83 

2.08 

2.25 

2.37 

1 in 

600. 

.74 

.91 

1.00 

1.18 

1.29 

1.39 

1.48 

1.58 

1.66 

1.83 

1.98 

2.23 

2.39 

2.50 

1 in 

500. 

.81 

1.00 

1.15 

1.29 

1.41 

1.53 

1.63 

1.73 

1.83 

2.00 

2.20 

2.45 

2.64 

2.83 

1 in 

450. 

.85 

1.05 

1.22 

1.35 

1.50 

1.60 

1.70 

1.83 

1.95 

2.11 

2.35 

2.60 

2.80 

3.00 

1 in 

400. 

.91 

1.11 

1.29 

1.44 

1.58 

1.70 

1.81 

1 93 

2.04 

2.23 

2.50 

2.74 

2.95 

3.16 

1 in 

350. 

1.00 

1.20 

1.40 

1.55 

1.70 

1.83 

1.93 

2.07 

2.20 

2.40 

2.67 

2.95 

3.25 

3.38 

1 in 

300. 

1.10 

1.29 

1.50 

1.65 

1.82 

1.97 

2.06 

2.20 

2.35 

2.55 

2.88 

3.15 

3.58 

3.61 

1 in 

250. 

1.16 

1.42 

1.64 

1.82 

2.00 

2.16 

2.30 

2.44 

2.58 

2.82 

3.16 

3.46 

3.74 

4.00 

1 in 

200. 

1.30 

1.58 

1.81 

2.06 

2.23 

2.39 

2.58 

2.73 

2.88 

3.16 

3.36 

3.87 

4.18 

4.47 

1 in 

150. 

1.50 

1.80 

2.05 

2.35 

2.57 

2.75 

2.95 

3.15 

3.30 

3.65 

3.95 

4.39 

4.68 

5.00 

1 in 

100. 

1.82 

2.23 

2.58 

2.88 

3.16 

3.41 

3.65 

3.87 

4.08 

4.47 

5.00 

5.48 

5.91 

6.32 

1 in 

90 . 

1.92 

2.36 

2.72 

3.05 

3.34 

3.60 

3.86 

4.10 

4.32 

4.72 

5.29 

5.80 

6.25 

6.65 

1 in 

80. 

2.03 

2.50 

2.87 

3.22 

3.53 

3.81 

4,08 

4.33 

4.56 

5.00 

5.59 

6.12 

6.61 

7.07 

1 in 

70. 

2.18 

2.67 

3.10 

3.47 

3.80 

4.10 

4.40 

4.70 

4.95 

5.40 

5.75 

6.60 

7.10 

7.55 

1 in 

60. 

2.34 

2.88 

3.31 

3.73 

4.10 

4.45 

4.80 

5.05 

5.38 

5.80 

6.50 

7.07 

7.61 

8.16 

1 in 

50. 

2.60 

3.16 

3.62 

4.12 

4.47 

4.79 

5.16 

5.47 

5.75 

6.32 

7.07 

7.74 

8.36 

8.94 

1 in 

40. 

2.83 

3.53 

4.12 

4.58 

5.00 

5.38 

5.74 

6.11 

6.45 

7.07 

7.88 

8.66 

9.35 10.00 

1 in 

30 

3 45 

4 04 

4 75 

5 25 

5 77 

6 24 

6 65 

7 07 

7 45 

8 15 

8 °6 

10 00 

10 30 11 54 

1 in 

20. 

4.07 

5.00 

5.74 

6.45 

7.07 

7! 63 

8.16 

8.66 

9.12 

10.00 

11.18 

12.25 

13.23,14.14 

1 in 

10. 

5.77 

7.07 

S.18 

9.12 

10.00 

10.81 

11.54 

12.25 

12.92 

14.14 

15.81 

17.32 

18.7120.00 






















































MANUAL OF DRAINAGE 


21 


TABLE NO. 2. 

Discharge in cubic feet per second of Circular Farm Drains running full with the following 

falls. 


F^ll. 


Inside Diameter of Pipe in Inches. 



2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

1 

7 

8 

9 

10 

12 

15 

18 

21 

24 

1 

in 

cn 

o 

o 

o 

.0058 

.0016 

.0320 

.0560 

.0880 

.1280 

.1810 

.2430 

.3160 

.4940 

.8670 

1.360 

2.020 

2.800 

1 

in 

4000... 

.0002 

.0170 

.0365 

.0625 

.0980 

.1440 

.1990 

.2696 

.3488 

.5570 

.9690 

1.527 

2.237 

3.142 

1 

in 

3000... 

.0074 

.0198 

.0410 

.0710 

.1130 

.1670 

.2220 

.3120 

.4060 

.6390 

1.013 

1.760 

2.480 

3.630 

1 

in 

2000... 

.0089 

.0240 

.0500 

.0880 

.1380 

.2040 

.2850 

.3830 

.4970 

.7850 

1.370 

2.160 

3.180 

4.440 

1 

in 

1000... 

.0126 

.0340 

.0720 

.1240 

.1960 

.2880 

.3980 

.5400 

.6980 

1.110 

1.940 

3.050 

4.470 

6.280 

1 

in 

900... 

.0130 

.0370 

.0760 

.1320 

.2100 

.3050 

.4200 

.5600 

.7400 

1.170 

2.050 

3.220 

4.750 

6.660 

1 

in 

800... 

.0140 

.0400 

.0800 

.1400 

.2200 

.3200 

.4500 

6100 

.7900 

1.230 

2.170 

3.400 

5.050 

7.000 

1 

in 

700... 

.0150 

.0420 

.0830 

.1500 

.2350 

.3450 

.4800 

.6500 

.8400 

1.330 

2.290 

3.660 

5.400 

7.420 

1 

in 

COO... 

.0160 

.0450 

.0870 

.1600 

.2500 

.3700 

.5200 

.6980 

.9000 

1.440 

2.420 

3.940 

5.750 

7.850 

1 

in 

500... 

•0178 

.0480 

.1000 

.1760 

.2750 

.4080 

.5700 

.7660 

.9940 

1.570 

2.740 

4.320 

6.360 

8.880 

1 

in 

450... 

.0190 

.0510 

.1060 

.1850 

.2890 

.4300 

.6000 

.8600 

1.050 

1.690 

2.900 

4.570 

6.730 

9.400 

1 

in 

400... 

.0200 

.0550 

.1120 

.1950 

.3100 

.4500 

.6400 

.8500 

1.100 

1.750 

3.060 

4.840 

7.100 

9.930 

1 

in 

350... 

.0220 

.0590 

.1210 

.2100 

.3300 

.4900 

.6700 

.9100 

1.200 

1.880 

3.280 

5.210 

7.820 

10.620 

1 

in 

300... 

.0230 

.0630 

.1320 

.2300 

.3600 

5300 

.7200 

.9900 

1.280 

2.050 

3.530 

5.550 

8.600 

11.350 

1 

in 

250... 

.0250 

.0680 

.1440 

.2480 

.3920 

.5760 

.7960 

1.080 

1.396 

2.220 

3.880 

6.100 

8.940 

12.560 

1 

in 

200... 

.0300 

.0800 

.1600 

.2800 

.4400 

.6400 

.9000 

1.210 

1.580 

2 470 

4.330 

6.800 

10.100 

14.000 

1 

in 

150... 

.0330 

0900 

.1740 

.3200 

.5000 

.7400 

1.040 

1.390 

1.800 

2.880 

4.840 

7.880 

11.500 

15.700 

1 

in 

100... 

.0400 

.1090 

.2240 

.3900 

.6200 

.9100 

1.270 

1.710 

2.220 

3.510 

6.130 

9.680 

14.210 

19.860 

1 

in 

{10... 

.0420 

.1150 

.2400 

.4100 

.6500 

.9600 

1.350 

1.820 

2.350 

3.700 

6.500 

10.250 

15.050 

21.000 

1 

in 

80. .. 

.0450 

.1220 

.2500 

.4400 

.6900 

1.020 

1.430 

1.920 

2.480 

3.920 

6.860 

10.820 

15.910 

22.220 

1 

in 

70... 

.0510 

.1300 

.2700 

.4700 

.7400 

1.090 

1.530 

2.080 

2.690 

4.240 

7.050 

11.660 

17.070 

23.720 

1 

in 

CO. .. 

.0540 

.1400 

.2900 

.5100 

.8000 

1.170 

1.660 

2.230 

2.930 

4.550 

8.070 

12.490 

18.300 

25.640 

1 

in 

50... 

.0570 

.1600 

.3200 

.5600 

.8800 

1.280 

1.810 

2.430 

3.160 

4 940 

8.670 

13.600 

20.200 

28.000 

1 

in 

40. .. 

.0030 

.1700 

.3600 

.6200 

.9800 

1.440 

1.990 

2.700 

3.490 

5.570 

9.690 

15.270 

22.370 

31.420 

1 

in 

30... 

.0740 

.1980 

.4100 

.7100 

1.130 

1.670 

2.220 

3.120 

4.160 

6.400 

10.130 

17.670 

24.770 

36.260 

1 

in 

20. .. 

.0890 

.2450 

5000 

.8800 

1.380i2.04012.850 

3.830 

4.970 

7.850 

13.720 

21.640 

31.820 

44.430 

1 

in 

10... 

.1260 

.3400 

.7200 

1.240 

1.96012.880 

3.980 

5.400 

6.980 

11.140 

19.380 

30.540 

44.740 

62.840 







































22 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


TABLE NO. 3. 

Number of acres of farm lands drained by circular tile underdrains flowing full, with the 

following falls. Rainfall, 20 inches per annum: 


j 

< 


Inside Diameter of Pipe in Inches. 


1 in 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

12 

15 

18 

21 

24 

5000 

2.0 

5.7 

11.5 

20.0 

31.5 

45.7 

65.0 

86.7 

112.7 

176.0 

310.0 

485 0 

721.0 

1000.0 

4C00 

2.2 

6.0 

13.0 

22.0 

35.0 

51.0 

71.0 

96.0 

125.0 

199.0 

346.0 

545.0 

799.0 

112.2.0 

3000 

2.6 

7.0 

14.6 

25.0 

40.0 

60.0 

79.0 

111.0 

145.0 

228.0 

362.0 

631.0 

885.0 

1249.0 

2000 

3.2 

8.7 

18.0 

31.0 

49.0 

73.0 

102.0 

137.0 

177.0 

280.0 

490.0 

773.0 

1136.0 

1587.0 

1000 

4.5 

12.0 

26.0 

44.0 

70.0 

103.0 

142.0 

193.0 

249.0 

398.0 

692.0 

1091.0 

1598.0 

2244.0 

900 

4.7 

13.0 

27.0 

47.0 

75.0 

108.0 

151.0 

203.0 

264.0 

417.0 

730.0 

1152.0 

1669.0 

2384.0 

800 

5.0 

14.0 

28.0 

50.0 

78.0 

114.0 

162.0 

216.0 

282.0 

441.0 

775.0 

1214.0 

1803.0 

2500.0 

700 

5.2 

15.0 

30.0 

53.0 

84.0 

125.0 

175.0 

232.0 

300.0 

475.0 

817.0 

1307.0 

1927.0 

2650.0 

600 

5.8 

16.2 

31.2 

57.0 

89.0 

132.0 

186.0 

248.0 

325.0 

514.0 

864.0 

1408.0 

2053.0 

2804.0 

500 

6 4 

17.4 

36.0 

62.0 

98.0 

146.0 

204.0 

274.0 

354.0 

560.0 

980.0 

1546.0 

2272.0 

3174.0 

450 

6.7 

19.0 

38.0 

67.0 

105.0 

152.0 

217.0 

289.0 

376.0 

588.0 

1033.0 

1619.0 

2405.0 

3333.0 

400 

7.0 

19.2 

40.0 

70.0 

112.0 

162.0 

226.0 

305.0 

396.0 

629.0 

1095.0 

1728.0 

2503.0 

3586.0 

350 

7.8 

21.0 

43.0 

75.0 

117.0 

175.0 

240.0 

325.0 

427.0 

672.0 

1172.0 

1860.0 

2792.0 

3792.0 

300 

8.3 

22.0 

47.0 

82.0 

127.0 

190.0 

257.0 

352.0 

457.0 

732.0 

1260.0 

1982.0 

3072.0 

4052.0 

250 

9.0 

24.0 

52.0 

88.0 

140.0 

206.0 

284.0 

386.0 

498.0 

796.0 

1384.0 

2182.0 

3196.0 

4488.0 

200 

10.1 

28.0 

57.0 

100.0 

157.0 

228.0 

325.0 

433.0 

563.0 

882.0 

1550.0 

2428.0 

3607.0 

5000.0 

150 

11.7 

32.5 

62.5 

115.0 

178.0 

265.0 

372.0 

497.0 

650.0 

1028.0 

1728.0 

2815.0 

4107.0 

5607.0 

100 

14.0 

39.0 

80.0 

140.0 

225.0 

325.0 

432.0 

610.0 

792.0 

1252.0 

2190.0 

3457.0 

5007.0 

7092.0 

90 

15.0 

41.0 

86.0 

144.0 

233.0 

342.0 

474.0 

642.0 

831.0 

1326.0 

2387.0 

3636.0 

5327.0 

7481.0 

80 

15.8 

43.0 

88.0 

157.0 

246.0 

363.0 

508.0 

683.0 

887.0 

1401.0 

2450.0 

3863.0 

5882.0 

7934.0 

70 

18.0 

47.0 

97.0 

167.0 

265.0 

390.0 

547.0 

742.0 

960.0 

1515.0 

2517.0 

4165.0 

6097.0 

8*475.0 

60 

19.0 

50.0 

102.0 

182.0 

285.0 

417.0 

592.0 

797.0 

1017.0 

1625.0 

2882.0 

4460.0 

6535.0 

9157.0 

50 

20.2 

57.0 

115.0 

200.0 

315.0 

457.0 

650.0 

867.0 

1127.0 

1765.0 

3100.0 

4857.0 

7215.0 

10000.0 

40 

22.5 

60.7 

428.0 

222.0 

350.0 

515.0 

710.0 

965.0 

1247.0 

1990.0 

3460.0 

5452.0 

7990.0 

11225.0 

30 

26.5 

70 7 

146.5 

253.0 

403.0 

600.0 

792.0 

1115.0 

1450.0 

2285.0 

3617.0 

6310.0 

8850.0 

12495.0 

* 20 

31.7 

87.0 

177.0 

315.0 

492.0 

727.0 

1017.0 

1367.0 

1775.0 

2802.0 

4900.0 

7727.0 

11365.0 

15868.0 

10 

45.0 

122.0 

257.0 

442.0 

700.0 

1027.0 

1422.0 

1927.0 

2492.0 

3977.0 

6922.0 

10907.0 

15980.0 

22442.0 





































MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


OQ 


TABLE NO. 4. 

Number of acres of farm lands drained by circular tile underdrains, flowing full, with the 

following falls—Rainfall 30 inches per annum. 


Fall. 


2 

3 

4 

5 

1 

in 

5000 

1.3 

3.8 

7.7 

13.3 

1 

in 

4000 

1.5 

4.0 

8.7 

15.0 

1 

in 

3000 

1.8 

4.7 

9.8 

16.7 

1 

in 

2000 

2.1 

5.8 

11.8 

21.7 

1 

in 

1000 

3.0 

8.3 

16.7 

30.0 

1 

in 

900 

3.2 

8.8 

18.1 

31.7 

1 

in 

800 

3.3 

9.7 

19.1 

33.3 

1 

in 

700 

3.5 

10.0 

19.8 

35.7 

1 

in 

600 

3.8 

10.7 

20.7 

38.3 

1 

in 

500 

4.2 

11.6 

23.6 

43.4 

1 

in 

450 

4.5 

12.1 

25.1 

44.0 

1 

in 

400 

4.7 

13.2 

27.0 

47.5 

1 

in 

350 

5.2 

14.0 

28.9 

50.0 

1 

in 

300 

5.5 

15.0 

31.7 

55.0 

1 

in 

250 

6.0 

16.7 

33.4 

60.0 

1 

in 

200 

6.7 

19.4 

38.2 

66.7 

1 

in 

150 

7.6 

21.4 

41.4 

76.7 

1 

in 

100 

9.5 

26.4 

54.3 

95.1 

1 

in 

90 

10.0 

27.0 

57.0 

100.0 

1 

in 

80 

10.5 

29.0 

59.0 

108.5 

1 

in 

70 

12.1 

31.7 

65.0 

111.7 

1 

in 

60 

12.8 

33.4 

68.0 

121.7 

1 

in 

50 

13.5 

38.0 

77.0 

133.0 

1 

in 

40 

15.0 

40.0 

87.0 

150.0 

1 

in 

30 

18.0 

47.0 

97.7 

167.0 

1 

in 

20 

21.0 

58.0 

118.0 

217.0 

1 

in 

10 

30.0 

83.0 

167.0 

300.0 


Inside Diameter of Pipe in Inches. 


6 

21.0 

23.3 

26.7 

33.4 

46.7 
50.0 

52.5 
56.0 
60.0 

66.8 
68.9 
75.0 


30.5 

34.3 
40.0 
50.0 

68.3 
71.7 

76.3 108 

83.4 116 


8 

43 

47 

53 

66 

95 

100 


88.3 123 
100.0 133 
101.7 143 
107.5 150 
78.3 116.7 160 
85.0 127.0 171 
93.0 136.7 190 
105.0 152.7 217 
120.0 177.6 247 
150.0 215.1 300 
155.0 234.0 317, 
167.0 250.0 333. 

'.0 260.0 365 
190.0 278.0 395 
210.0 £05.0 433 
233.0 343.0 473 
267.0 400.01534 
334.0 500.0 667. 
467.0 683.0 950 


9 


57.8 
64.2 
75.0 
91.7 

128.3 

133.4 

144.5 
155.0 
166.1 

183.4 
0 190.0 

200.0 

216.7 
235.0 
257.0 
289.0 
332.0 
400.2 
434.0 

458.5 
495.0 

531.7 
578.0 
642.0 
750.0 
917.0 

1283.0 


10 


75.1 

83.0 

96.7 

118.7 

166.7 

176.7 
188.3 
200.0 

216.7 
237.0 
250.0 
265.0 
285.0 
305.0 
333.0 
377.0 
433.0 
530.1 
553.0 
591.5 
640.0 
698.0 
751.0 
830.0 
967.0 

1183.0 

1667.0 


12 15 18 


117 

132 

152 

186 

265 

278 

295 

316 

343 

372 

401 

418 

448 

489 

530 

590 

687 

835 

883 

930 

1010 

1083 

1177 

1327 

1524 

1860 

2650 


206.7 

230.7 
241 8 

326.7 

461.7 

488.3 
516.6 
545.01 

576.4 
652.0 


323.9 

363.3 
420.0 
515.0 

726.7 

766.7 
810.0 

871.7 

958.4 
1030.0 


690.0 1090.0 
732.0 1150.0 
781.0 1240.0 


840.0 

923.0 


1321.0 

1453.0 


1033.0 1620.0 
1153.0 1877.0 
1465.0 2300.0 
1539.0 2433.0 
1634.0 2575.0 


0 1679.0 2777.0 


1921.0 2973.0 
2067.0! 3239.0 
2307.0 3633.0 
2418.0:4200.0 
3269.0 5150.0 


4617.0 


7267.0 


480.1 

531.7 
590.0 

756.7 
1065.1 

1113.4 

1203.4 
1285.0 
1368.3 
1513.0 
1601.0 
1670.0 
1861.0 
2049.0 
2130.0 
2407.0 
2737.0 
3340.0 
3550.0 
3783.0 
4065.0 
4357.0 
4801.0 
5317.0 
5900.0 
7567.0 

10651.0 


24 


666.7 

748.3 

863.3 

1058.3 
1496.1 
1577.0 

1666.7 

1766.7 

1868.3 
2117.0 
2238.0 
2365.0 
2528.0 
2701.0 
2992.0 

3333.4 
3737.0 
4731.0 
5000.0 
5291.0 
5650.0 
6105.0 
6667.0 
7483.0 
8633.0 

10583.0 

14961.0 











































24 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


TABLE NO. 5. 

Number of acres of farm lands drained by circular tile underdrains, flowing full, with the 

following falls—Rainfall 40 inches per annum. 


Fall. 


1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 
1 in 


5000. 

4000. 

3000. 

2000 . 

1000. 

900. 

800. 

700. 

600. 

500. 

450. 

400. 

350. 

300. 

250. 

200 . 

150. 

100 . 

90. 

80. 

70. 

60. 

50. 

40. 

30. 

20 . 

10 . 


Inside Diameter of Pipe in Inches. 


1.0 

1.1 

1.3 
1.6 
2.2 

2.4 

2.5 

2.6 

2.9 

3.1 

3.4 
3.6 

3.9 

4.1 

4.5 
5.0 
6.0 

7.1 

7.5 
8.0 
9.0 

9.6 
10.1 
11.5 
13.0 
16.0 
22.0 


3 

3 

3 

4 
6 
7 

7 

>y 

i 

8 
9 
9 

10 

10 

11 

12 

14 

16 

19 

20 
21 
23 
25 

29 

30 
35 
44 
61 


0 

.1 

,5 

4 


0 13 
0 13 
2 14 
5 15 
0 16 


18 

19 

20 
21 

24 

25 
28 
32 
40 
42 


71 45 
7' 49 
0 51 
0 57 
0 64 
0 73 
0 90 
0 130 


10 

11 , 

12 

16, 

22 , 

24 

25, 

26 

29 

32. 

33 

35 

37, 

41. 

44, 

50. 

57. 

70. 

75. 

79. 

84. 

91. 

100 . 

111 . 

117. 

157. 

221 . 


6 


16.0 
17.0 
20.0 
25.0 
35.0 
38.0 
40.0 
42.0 
45.0 
50.0 
51.0 
55.0 
59.0 
64.0 
70.0 
78.5 
90.0 
112.0 
116.0 
124.0 
132.0 
0 142.0 
0 158.0 


175.0 

202.0 

246.0 


0 350.0 


23.0 

25.0 

30.0 

36.0 

51.0 

54.0 

57.0 

62.0 

66.0 

72.0 

75.0 

81.0 


8 


32.0 

35.0 

40.0 

51.0 

70.0 

75.0 

81.0 

90.0 

92.0 

101.0 

107.0 

114.0 


88.0 120.0 
95.0 129.0 


102.0 

114.4 

132.0 

162.0 

171.0 

182.0 

195.0 

209.0 

229.0 

257.0 

300.0 

364.0 

514.0 


142.0 


9 

43.0 
48.0 
56.0 
68.0 
96.0 
100 . 0 ! 
108.0' 
117. o; 

125.01 
136.0 
142.0 
152.0 
162.0 
175.0: 
192.0 
162.0 217.0 


10 


186.0 

226.0 

237.0 

255.0 

261.0 

296.5 


56 
62 
72 
90 
124, 
132, 
141, 
150. 
162. 
178. 
187. 
199. 
213. 
221 . 
249. 
282. 
249.0 325. 
305.0| 396. 
321.0 


342.0 

371.0 

399.0 


325.0 434.0 
355.0 482.0 


396.0 

509.0 

711.0 


415 

444 

480 

524 

569 

623 

725 


557.0i 
684.0 ! 887 
964.0 1246 


12 15 18 


88.0 

100.0 

114.0 

140.0 

200.0 

209.0 

221.0 

237.0 

257.0 

281.0 

302.0 

312.0 

336.0 

366.0 

396.0 

441.0 

514.0 

626.0 

663.0 

700.0 

757.0 


155 

170 

180 

245 

345 

357 

388 

409 

432 

490 

517 

547 

586 

630 

692. 

775. 

864. 

1095. 

1153. 

1225. 

1259. 


243.0 
272.0 
302.0 
390.0 
545.0 
575.0 
607.0 
654.0 
703.0 
771.0 
816.0 
863.0 
930.0 
991.0 
0; 1089.0 
01217.0 
0 1475.0 
0 1729.0 
0 1818.0 
0 1932.0 


21 24 


360.0 
400.0 
442.0 
568.0 
800.0 
850.0 
902.0 
964.0 
1026.0 
1136.0 
1202.0 
1269.0 
1396.0 
1536.0 
1596.0 
1804.0 
2054.0 
2537.0 
2663.0 
2842.0 


0 2082.0 3049.0 


812.0 1441.0 2230.0 
882.0 1550.0,2429.0 
995.0 1730.0 2726.0 
1142.0 1809.0 3155.0 
1401.0 2550.0 3864.0 
1990.0 3461.0 5454.0 


500.0 
561.0 
647.0 
800.0 
1120.0 
1190.0 
1250.0 
1325.0 
1402.0 
1590 0 
1679.0 
1774.0 
1896.0 
2026.0 
2242.u 
2500 0 
2838.0 
3546.0 
3740.0 
3959.0 
4238.0 
4579.0 
5000.0 
5616.0 
6475.0 
7934.0 
7990.0|11221.0 
I 


3267.0 

3607.0 

3995.0 

4425.0 

5682.0! 



















































25 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


TABLE NO. 6. 

Number of acres of farm lands drained by circular tile underclrains, flowing full, with the 

following falls—Rainfall 50 inches per annum. 


Inside Diameter of Pipe in Inches. 
Fall. __ 



2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

0 10 

12 

15 

18 

21 

24 

1 in 5000.... 

0.8 

2.3 

4.6 

8.0 

12.6 

18.3 

26.0 

34.7 45.1 

70.6 

124.0 

194.3 

288.6 

400.0 

1 in 4000.... 

0.9 

2.4 

5.2 

9.0 

14.0 

20.6 

28 4 

38.51 49.8 

79.6 

138.4 

218.0 

319.0 

449.0 

1 in 

3000... 

1.1 

2.8 

5.9 

10.1 

16.0 

24.0 

32.0 

45.0 58.0 

91.4 

145.1 

252.0 

334.0 

518.0 

1 in 

2000.... 

1.3 

3.5 

7.1 

13.0 

20.0 

30.0 

40.0 

55.0! 71.0 

112.0 

196.0 

309.0 

454.0 

635.0 

1 in 

1000.... 

1.8 

5.0 

10.0 

18.0 

28.0 

41.0 

57.0 

77 0 100.0 

159.0 

277.0 

436.0 

639.0 

897.0 

1 in 

900.... 

1.9 

5.3 

10.9 

19.0 

30.0 

43.0 

60.0 

80.0 106.0 

167.0 

292.0 

460.0 

668.0 

946.0 

1 in 

800.... 

2.0 

5.8 

11.5 

20.0 

31.5 

46.0 

65.0 

87.0 113.0 

177.0 

310.0 

486.0 

722.0 

1000.0 

1 in 

700.... 

2.1 

6.0 

11.9 

21.4 

34.0 

50.0 

70.0 

93.0i 120.0 

190.0 

327.0 

523.0 

771.0 

1060.0 

1 in 

000.... 

2.3 

6.4 

12.4 

23.0 

36.0 

53.0 

74.0 

100.0 130.0 

206.0 

346.0 

563.0 

821.0 

1121.0 

1 in 

500.... 

2.5 

7.0 

14.3 

25.0 

39.0 

58.0 

81.0 

109.0 142.0 

224.0 

391.0 

617.0 

909.0 

1270.0 

1 in 

450.... 

2.7 

7.3 

15.1 

26.4 

41.0 

61.0 

86.0 

114.0 150.0 

241.0 

414.0 

653.0 

961.0 

1343.0 

1 in 

400.... 

2.9 

7.9 

16.0 

28.0 

44.0 

65.0 

91.0 

122.0 159.0 

250.0 

438.0 

691.0 

1001.0 

1419.0 

1 in 

350..,. 

3.1 

9.4 

17.3 

30.0 

47.0 

70.0 

96.0 

130.0171.0 

269.0 

469.0 

744.0 

1117.0 

1517.0 

1 in 

300.... 

3.3 

9.0 

19.0 

33.0 

51.0 

76.0 

103.0 

141.0 183.0 

293.0 

504.0 

793.0 

1229.0 

1621.0 

1 in 

250.... 

3.6 

9.7 

20.6 

35.0 

56.0 

82.0 

114.0 

154.0 199.0 

317.0 

554.0 

871.0 

1277.0 

1794.0 

1 in 

200.... 

4.0 

11.5 

23.0 

40.0 

63.0 

91.0 

130.0 

173.0 226 0 

353.0 

620.0 

972.0 

1443.0 

2000.0 

1 in 

150.... 

4.7 

13.0 

25.0 

46.0 

71.0 

106.0 

149.0 

199.0 260.0 

411.0 

691.0 

1126.0 

1643.0 

2243.0 

1 in 

100.... 

5.7 

15.6 

32 0 

56.0 

90.0 

130.0 

181.0 

244.0 317.0 

501.0 

876.0 

1383.0 

2003.0 

2837.0 

1 in 

90.... 

6.0 

16.4 

34.0 

60 0 

93.0 

140.0 

190.0 

260.0 332.0 

530.0 

923.0 

1454.0 

2130 0 

3000.0 

1 in 

80.... 

6.4 

17.4 

36.0 

63.0 

99.0 

146.0 

204.0 

274.0,355.0 

560.0 

980.0 

1546.0 

2273.0 

3174.0 

1 in 

70.... 

7.3 

19.0 

39.0 

67.0 

106.0 

156.0 

219.0 

297.0 384.0 

606.0 

1007.0 

1666.0 

2439.0 

3390.0 

1 in 

60.... 

7.7 

20.0 

41.0 

73.0 

114.0 

167.0 

237.0 

319.0 419.0 

650.0 

1153.0 

1784.0 

2614.0 

3663.0 

1 in 

50 ... 

8.1 

23.0 

46.0 

80.0 

126.7 

183.0 

260.0 

347.01451.0 

706.0 

1240.0 

1943.0 

2886.0 

4000.0 

1 in 

40.... 

9.0 

24.0 

51.0 

89.0 

140.0 

206.0 

284.0 

386.0)499.0 

796.0 

1384.0 

2181.0 

3196.0 

4490.0 

1 in 

30.... 

10.6 

28.0 

59.0 

101.0 

161.0 

240.0 

317.0 

446.0)580.0 

914 0 

1447.0 

2524.0 

3540.0 

5180.0 

1 in 

20.... 

12.7 

35.0 

71.0 

126.0 

197.0 

291.0 

407.0 

547.0 710.0 

1121.0 

1960.0 

3091.0 

4546.0 

6347.0 

1 in 

10.... 

18.0 

49.0 

103.0 

177.0 

280.0 

411.0 

569.0 

771.0 997.0 

1591.0 

2769.0 

4363.0 

6391.0 

8977.0 


Our attention was drawn in 1884 to the matter of drain¬ 
ing the prairies of the Northwest. While in Winnipeg, in 
charge of extensive drainage works, the question was often 
asked, “How are we to drain these prairies?” The real 
difficulty is, apparently, that the frost penetrates the soil to 
the depth of over eight feet. We found the average frost 
line over eight feet below the surface. From repeated ob¬ 
servations since that time, there appears to be no doubt that 
deep drains down below the frost line would completely 
drain this very rich clay loam. As deep drainage promotes 

3 







































26 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


the aeration and disintegration of the soil to a far greater 
extent than is generally believed by most people, we would 
propose that lands in Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, 
Dakota, etc., be drained at 9 feet deep, and at 150 feet 
apart between the drains. This would give the water an 
inclination of 1 in 8 to fall each wav into the drains, and 
leave over a foot of drained land in the middle between the 
drains. So that the drainage of these extensive rich lands 
could be done, perhaps, cheaper than any other tract of 
land of similar extent, richness and fertility on the conti¬ 
nent. The absence of stones rendering machinerv for 
cutting trenches serviceable, and the comparatively small 
number of drain trenches to dig, would more than counter¬ 
balance the greater cost of deeper trenches. The outlets 
would have to be into the Red, Assiniboine, Saskatchewan 
and similar rivers, where plenty of sites can be found. It 
is recommended that the method of locating the drains be 
nearly the same as is illustrated in page 12, Diagram No. 1, 
with the drains, of course, 150 feet, instead of 80 feet, 
between them. The main drain could be carried back from 
the river many miles, as by using a large pipe very little 
fall would suffice to give the water a steady flow toward the 
river. The river banks are eminently suited for outlets, as 
during the summer the water in the rivers is very low—in 
some cases over 40 feet below the general level of the prai¬ 
rie. The possible objection that the soil is too stiff to admit 
of water percolating through it will be found, in practice, 
to be not well founded, because the water held in the soil 
must, at some time during the summer, find its way into the 
drain, and the water does not all sink down, but comes up, 
and from the sides as well. To prove this, let a man, about 
August, dig a hole on the prairie a few feet in depth, and 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


27 


if the land wants drainage, water will come into it from all 
sides and up from the bottom. 

Drainage promotes porosity, so that drained land is 



affected in a less decree bv extremes of cold and heat. The 
soil is warmer in winter, and less affected by drought in 
summer. The thing to be attained by drainage is to aerate 







28 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

and pulverize the subsoil by the action of the weather, and 
it is certain that the frost will not penetrate to so great a 
depth in drained as in undrained lands. Surface ditches are 
of very little benefit, because, if the subsoil be dry, land 
cannot be much hurt b}^ surface water. It is only an evi¬ 
dence that the subsoil wants draining when there is stand¬ 
ing water on land. 

The distance apart we have mentioned for the drains will 
suit only some sorts of soil. When the soil is of a more 
compact mass the distances apart for the drainage must be 
closer than 150 feet, even though we must dig 9 feet deep 
to get below the frost line. There is much land in Dakota 
and the Northwest Territories generally, where the frost 
does not penetrate the soil 8 feet. The drains must be 
arranged accordingly. 

Though there is not much land anywhere but would 
receive benefit from drainage, it does not follow that it 
would be expedient to drain it in all cases. If a farmer has 
a hilly farm where there are elevated ridges, and low, wet 
valleys, true economy would indicate that the low, wet val¬ 
leys should be drained only. The plan of drainage for this 
sort of a farm is illustrated by Diagram No. 2, page 27. 
Let the space inclosed by the dotted line represent a farm 
of 100 acres. Then the black lines L 8 R M Q, S N, R O 
and Q P represent drains having a common outlet L into 
the stream, and a a a a a hills. 

It must be borne in mind that the portion of the drain 
from L S must be large enough to carry all the water due 
to the hundred acres. For instance, if the rainfall is 40 
inches (see Table No. 5), and the general inclination or fall 
of the drains 1 in 200, then the drain tile must be 7 inches 
in diameter from L to S, for Table No. 5 gives us 114.4 as 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


29 


the number of acres that a 7-incli tile will drain. This is a 
little large, for reasons before explained herein. All the 
drains must be proportioned accordingly, for the water 
which falls in the shape of rain and snow on the hills or 
elevated ridges, a a a a a, must find its way somewhere. It 
will most likely percolate through the soil down to the val¬ 
leys, and come up in the shape of springs there, unless 
drains are provided to receive it. 


Estimate op Cost. 

L S drains 100 acres=700 lineal feet, 7-inch pipes, at 5J4c. $38 50 

SR “70 “ =700 “ 6 “ 4c. 28 00 

8N 2,100 “ 3 “ lJ4c. 26 25 

RQ 700 “ 3 “ lJ4c. 8 75 

RO 2,300 “ 3 “ lJ4c. 28 75 

QP 1,400 “ 3 “ lJ4c. 17 50 

Q M 1,750 “ 3 “ \y 4 c . 2187 


$169 62 

Digging, laying, etc. 482 50 


Or say an average cost of $0.52 per acre for the 100 acres. 


$652 12 


No matter what the size of the farm may be, provide 
drains for the low, wet valleys, and the ridges or hills, in 
most cases, will drain themselves, if provision is made in the 
size of the drains for the total acreage. 

This applies to pretty steep hills that are cultivated. But 
stiff clay hills, if cultivated, would be better if thoroughly 
drained. 

i • 

The question of deep drainage is not new. As long ago 
as the 17th century Captain Blitli, of England, wrote : 

“ Whenever you see draining and trenching you shall 
rarely find any of them wrought to the bottom. But for 
these common and many trenches, ofttimes crooked, too, 
that men usually make in their boggy grounds, some one 
foot, some two, I say away with them as a great piece of 












30 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


folly, lost labor and spoil. And for the draining trench, it 
must be made so deep that it goes to the bottom of the cold, 
spewing, moist water, that feeds the flag and the rush. 

A yard or four feet deep if ever thou wilt drain to any pur¬ 
pose. To the bottom where the spewing spring lieth thou 
must go, and one spade’s graft beneath, how deep soe’er it 
be, if thou wilt drain thy^ land to purpose.” 

There seems to be a consensus of opinion among all prac¬ 
tical agriculturists who have tried drainage to a sufficient 
depth, that it will increase the products of the soil from 25 
to 50 per cent., and that' drains are generally put down too 
shallow. 

Without good drainage it is useless to hope for better 
times among farmers. In the North and Northwest where 
the rigors of winter and sometimes the droughts of summer 
are felt, there is no doubt the effects of drainage on a large 
scale would ameliorate the climate in winter, and the soil 
would retain its moisture in summer to a much greater 
extent, because thoroughly drained land is not only of 
higher temperature, or warmer, in cold weather, but it holds 
its moisture longer in drought, which generally occurs when 
evaporation is rapid during summer. It is not uncommon 
to find the soil light and porous on the surface, but the sub¬ 
soil impervious, and a soil thus constituted is literally baked 
under a hot sun. A sure indication of an impervious sub¬ 
soil is the growth of aquatic plants in places where the land 
is so situated that from general indications they should not 
be there. When walking over pastures in summer time, 
after a rain, we feel the land spongy instead of springy to 
the feet; that land wants drainage. It has a subsoil com¬ 
posed of clay, hard pan or other impervious substance, and 
will be, in either dry or wet weather, next to useless. Such 


31 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

land can never be made, under any system of cultivation, 
manuring or other operation, fit for husbandry without 
thorough drainage. 

A prominent professor of agriculture says: “ I do not 
believe farming can be pursued with profit without drain¬ 
ing.” 

The following clear statement on the fitness of soil for 
the promotion of the germination of plants is taken from a 
valuable lecture on Agricultural Science, by Dr. Madden, 
of England, and is quoted by the General Board of Health 
in their “ Minutes of Information.” It is the clearest expo¬ 
sition that we have met: 

“The first thing which occurs after the sowing of the 
seed is, of course, germination ; and before we examine 
how this process may be influenced by the condition of the 
soil, we must, necessarily, obtain some correct idea of the 
process itself. The most careful examination has proved 
that the process of germination consists essentially of vari¬ 
ous chemical changes, which require for their development 
the presence of air, moisture, and a certain degree of 
warmth. How, it is obviously unnecessary for our present 
purpose that we should have the least idea of the nature of 
these processes. All we require to do is to ascertain the 
conditions under which they take place. Having detected 
these, we know at once what is required to make a seed 
grow. These, we have seen, are air, moisture and a certain 
degree of warmth, and it consequently results that when¬ 
ever a seed is placed in these circumstances germination 
will take place. Viewing matters in this light, it appears 
that soil does not act chemically in the process of germina¬ 
tion ; that its sole action is confined to its being the vehicle 
by means of which a supply of air and moisture and warmth 


32 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

can be continually kept up. With this simple statement in 
view we are quite prepared to consider the various condi¬ 
tions of soil for the purpose of determining how far these 
will influence the future prospects of the crop, and we shall 
accordingly at once proceed to examine carefully into the 
mechanical relations of soil. 

“ Soil, examined mechanically, is found to consist entirely 
of particles of all shapes and sizes, from stones and pebbles 
down to the flnest powder, and on account of their extreme 
irregularity of shape they cannot lie so close to one another 
as to prevent there being passages between them, owing to 
which circumstance soil in the mass is always more or less 
porous. If, however, we proceed to examine one of the 
smallest particles of which soil is made up, we shall find that 
even this is not always solid, but is much more frequently 
porous, like soil in the mass. A considerable proportion of 
this finely divided part of soil—the impalpable matter, as it 
is generally called, is found, by the aid of the microscope, 
to consist of broken-down vegetable tissue, so that when a 
small portion of the flnest dust from a garden or field is 
placed under the microscope, we have exhibited to us parti¬ 
cles of every variety of shape and structure, of which a cer¬ 
tain part is evidently of vegetable origin. 

“ On examining a perfectly dry soil we perceive there are 
two distinct classes of pores : 1st, the large ones, which 
exist between the particles of soil ; and 2d, the minute ones, 
which occur in the particles themselves. And whereas all 
the larger pores—those between the particles of soil—com¬ 
municate most freely with each other, so that the\ T form 
canals, the small pores, however freely they may communi¬ 
cate with one another in the interior of the particle in which 
they occur, have no direct connection with the pores of the 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


33 


surrounding particles. Let us now, therefore, trace the 
effect of this arrangement. If the soil is perfectly dry, the 
canals communicating freely at the surface with the sur¬ 
rounding atmosphere, the whole of these canals and pores 
will, of course, be filled with air. If, in this condition, a 
seed be placed in the soil, you at once perceive that it is 
freely supplied with air, but there is no moisture; there¬ 
fore, when soil is perfectly dry a seed cannot grow. 

“ Let us turn our attention, now, to that state of the soil 
in which water has taken the place of air, or, in other words, 
the soil is very wet. If we observe our seed now, we find 
it abundantly supplied with water, but no air. Here again, 
therefore, germination cannot take place. It may be well 
to state here that this can never occur exactly in nature, 
because water, having the power of dissolving air to a cer¬ 
tain extent, the seed is in fact supplied with a certain 
amount of this necessary substance, and, owing to this, ger¬ 
mination does take place, although by no means under such 
advantageous circumstances as it would were the soil in a 
better condition. 

“We pass on now to a different state of matters. Let us 
suppose the canals are open and freely supplied with air, 
while the pores are filled with water; while the seed now 
lias cpiite enough of air from the canals, it can never be 
without moisture, as every particle of soil which touches it 
is well supplied with this necessary ingredient. This, then, 
is the proper condition of soil for germination, and, in fact, 
for every period for the plant’s development, and this con¬ 
dition occurs when soil is moist, but not wet; that is to say, 
when it has the color and appearance of being well watered, 
but when it is still capable of being crumbled to pieces by 


34 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


the hands, without any of its particles adhering together in 
the familiar form of mud. 

“ Let us observe still another condition of soil. In this 
instance, as far as water is concerned, the soil is in its 
healthy condition ; it is moist but not wet, the pores alone 
being filled with water. But where are the canals ? We 
see them in a few places, but in by far the greater part of 
the soil none are to be perceived. This is owing to the par¬ 
ticles of soil having adhered together, and thus so far oblit¬ 
erated the interstitial canals that they appear only like 
pores. This is the state of matters in every clod of earth, 
and you will at once perceive, on comparing it with stone, 
that it differs from it only in possessing a few pores, which 
latter, while they may form a reservoir for moisture, can 
never act as vehicles for the food of plants, as the roots are 
not capable of extending their fibres into the interior of a 
clod, but are at all times confined to the interstitial canals. 

“With these four conditions before us, let us endeavor to 
apply them practically to ascertain when they occur in our 
fields, and how those which are injurious may be obviated. 

“ The first of them, we perceive, is a state of too great 
dryness, a very rare condition, in this climate at least; in 
fact, the only case in which it is likely to occur is in very 
coarse sands, where the soil, being chiefly made up of pure 
sand and particles of flinty matter, contains comparatively 
much fewer pores, and from the large size of the individual 
particles, assisted by their irregularity,'the canals are wider, 
the circulation of air freer, and, consequently, the whole is 
much more easily dried. When this state of matters exists, 
the best treatment is to leave all the stones which occur on 
the surface of the field, as they cast shades, and thereby 
prevent or retard the evaporation of water. 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


85 


“We will not, however, make any further observations 
on this very rare case, but will rather proceed to a much 
more frequent and, in every respect, more important con¬ 
dition of soil, an excess of water. 

“When water is added to perfectly dry soil, it, of course, 
in the first instance, fills the interstitial canals, and from 
these enters the pores of each particle ; and if the supply of 
water be not too great the canals speedily become empty, 
so that the whole of the fluid is taken up by the pores; this, 
we have already seen, is the healthy condition of the soil. 
If, however, the supply of water be too great, as in the case 
when a spring gains admission into the soil, or when the 
sinking of the fluid through the canals to a sufficient depth 
below the surface is prevented, it is clear that these also 
must get filled with water so soon as the pores have become 
saturated. This, then, is the condition of undrained soil. 

“Hot only are the pores filled, but the interstitial canals 
are likewise full, and the consequence is that the whole 
process of germination and growth of vegetables is materi¬ 
ally interfered with. We shall here, therefore, briefly state 
the injurious effects of an excess of water, for the purpose 
of impressing more strongly on your minds the necessity of 
thorough draining as the first and most essential step 
towards the improvement of your soil. 

“ The first great effect of an excess of water is that it pro¬ 
duces a corresponding diminution of the amount of air 
beneath the surface, which air is of the greatest possible 
consequence in the nutrition of plants; in fact, if entirely 
excluded, germination could not take place, and the seed 
sown would, of course, either decay or lie dormant. 

“ Secondly, an excess of water is most hurtful by reduc¬ 
ing considerably the temperature of the soil. This I find, 


36 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


by careful experiment, to be to the extent of 6J degrees 
Fahrenheit in summer, which amount is equivalent to an 
elevation above the level of the sea of 1,950 feet. So that, 
supposing two fields lying side by side, the one drained, the 
other undrained, and supposing them both equally well cul¬ 
tivated, there will be nearly as much difference in the 
amount and value of their respective crops as if the drained 
one was situated at the level of the sea, and the other had 
an elevation as high as the most lofty of the Pentland Hills. 

“These are the chief injuries of an excess of water in 
soil which affect the soil itself. There are very many others 
affecting the climate, etc., but these are not so connected 
with the subject in hand as to call for an explanation here. 

“ Of course, all these injurious effects are at once over¬ 
come by thorough draining, the result of which is to estab¬ 
lish a direct communication between the interstitial canals 
and the drains, by which means it follows that no water 
can remain any length of time in these canals without, by 
its gravitation, finding its way into the drains. 

“Too much cannot be said in favor of pulverizing the 
soil; even thorough draining itself will not supersede the 
necessity of performing this most necessary operation. The 
whole valuable effects of plowing, harrowing, grubbing, 
etc., may be reduced so this, and almost the whole superi¬ 
ority of garden over field produce is referable to the greater 
perfection to which this pulverizing of the soil can be car¬ 
ried. The celebrated Jethro Tull has the honor of having 
first directed the farmer’s attention forcibly to this subject, 
and so deeply impressed was he with its infinite importance 
that he believed the use of manure could be entirely super¬ 
seded were this pulverizing carried to a sufficient extent. 

“The whole success of drill husbandry is owing, in a 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


37 


great measure, to its enabling you to stir up the soil well 
during the progress of your crop, which stirring up is of no 
value beyond its effect in more minutely pulverizing the 
soil, increasing, as far as possible, the size and number of 
the interstitial canals. 

“ Lest any one should suppose that the contents of these 
interstitial canals must be so minute that their whole amount 
can be of but little consecpience, I may here notice the fact 
that in moderately well pulverized soil they amount to no 
less than one-fourth of the whole bulk of the soil itself. A 
familiar illustration of the space occupied by the spaces be¬ 
tween the particles of loosened soil is afforded by the fact 
that when soil is disturbed it more than fills the space it 
previously occupied. 

“ Taking into calculation the weight of soil, we shall find 
that with every additional inch which you reduce to pow¬ 
der (by plowing, for example, 9 inches in place of 8), you 
call into activity 235 tons of soil per acre, and render it 
capable of retaining beneath its surface 1,568,160 additional 
cubic inches of air, and, to take one more element into the 
calculation, supposing the soil were not properly drained, 
the sufficient pulverizing of an additional inch in depth 
would increase the escape of water from the surface by 
upwards of 100 gallons per day. 

[The pulverizing of land could hardly be carried on prac¬ 
tically in undrained wet land, because every farmer knows 
that hard, tough clods, the natural outcome of wet, undrained 
soil, are only pulverized with much labor. The drainage of 
land puts it in a state to pulverize by drawing off the sur¬ 
plus water.] 

“ The great purpose of draining being immediately the 
improvement of the land, but ultimately the promotion and 


38 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


improvement of vegetable production, the preceding con¬ 
siderations as to the fitness of the soil for germination may 
be well followed bv a brief enumeration of the rules for 

•j 

the application of water toplands, which, as laid down by 
De Candolle, refer: 

“ First —To the quality of the water used ; that it should 
be well aerated; the presence of atmospheric air is good, 
but of carbonic acid gas much better. The next qualities 
desirable are that it should contain fertilizing matters; the 
water should he as little muddy as possible ; the temperature 
of the water is of importance, especially for hot-house 
plants; the water used in hot-houses is allowed to stand for 
some time before it is employed, in order that it may have 
the temperature of the place. It is well that other water 
employed should stand for a time in the sun. 

“Second —To the times of the application. In the win¬ 
ter time there should he little irrigation, because the plants 
are then dormant and water is then superabundant. In 
springtime water is usually abundant. In summer it is 
wanting, and at that time the water should he given in the 
evening. 

“ Third —To the quantity of water to he applied, which 
should he varied accordingly. 

“a. To the object of the culture. When for leaves, 
more water should he given than when for flowers; less 
water should he given when for grains or fruits. 

“b. To the depths of the roots. The application should 
he more frequent to the plants of which the roots are super¬ 
ficial, less frequent to deeper roots. 

“ c. To the structure of the foliage. Those which evap¬ 
orate much (such as plants with large leaves), more fre¬ 
quently than perennials or plants with thick leaves. 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


39 


d. To the consistence of the stalks and of the roots. 
Hoots with fleshy fibres do not thrive if too abundantly 
watered; at the same time they are injured by dryness. 
Tuberculous or bulbous plants, or plants with fleshy leaves 
can bear a long-continued dryness, and therefore infrequent, 
yet abundant, waterings suit them well. 

“ e . To the stage of vegetation. It is important to bear in 
mind that the young, germinating plants require light and 
frequent waterings; those that are in the height of growth 
abundant waterings, and when the fruit or seed is being 
matured the waterings should be infrequent. Those that 
have been transplanted require abundant watering. 

u f To the nature of the’soil, according to which these 
rules must be modified. The lighter the soil the more fre¬ 
quent and plentiful must be the waterings. If it is a com¬ 
pact and clayejr soil less watering will be required. 

“ (j. To the state of the atmosphere. It will be readily 
conceived that the watering must be more frequent when 
the temperature is high, the sky clear and the air dry, and 
during drought.” 

In Arizona and other places where irrigation is required 
in order to raise abundant crops, the above information in 
the matter of watering plants will be valuable. 

Stevens says, on the benefits derived from good drainage : 
“ The existence of moisture in the soil being easily de¬ 
tected by injurious effects on the crops, the advantages 
derived from drainage are also indicated by its good effects 
on them, On drained land the straw of wheat shoots up 
with a vigorous beard, strong, long, and so stiff as not to be' 
easily lodged. The grain is plump, bright colored and thin 
skinned. The crop ripens uniformly, is bulky, prolific, 
more quickly won for stacking in harvest, more easily 


40 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

threshed, winnowed and cleaned. The. straw, also, makes 
better food for live stock. Clover grows rank, long and 
juicy, and the*flowers large and of a bright color. The hay 
wins easily, and weighs heavily for its bulk. Pasture grasses 
stool out in every direction, covering the ground with a 
thick sward, and producing milk and meat of the finest 
quality. Turnips become large and plump, as if fully 
grown, juicy, and with a smooth and oily skin. Potatoes 
push out long and strong stems with large tubers* having 
skins easity peeled off, and their substance mealy when 
boiled. Live stock of every kind thrive, evince good tem¬ 
per, are easily fattened, and of fine quality. Land is less 
occupied with weeds, the increased luxuriance of all crops 
checking their growth. Summer fallow is more easily 
cleared, and much less labor is required to put the land in 
order for manure and seed, and all sorts of manures incor¬ 
porate more quicklj 7 with the soil. Thoroughly drained 
land is easily worked with all common implements. Being 
all alike, its texture becomes equal, and, in consequence, the 
plow passes through it with uniform freedom, and, moving 
in a freer soil, it is able to raise a deeper furrow-slice, 
which, on its part, though heavy, crumbles down and yields 
to the pressure of the mold board into friable, mellow, 
rich-looking mold. The harrows, instead of being held 
back at times, and starting forward and oscillating sideways, 
swim along, taking the soil into a smooth surface, and en¬ 
tirely obliterating the horse’s footmarks. The roller com¬ 
presses and leaves the soil even and smooth, but the part 
below in a mellow state for the roots of plants to extend in.” 

Another authority says : 

“ Draining has not only been the means of increasing my 
crops, but they can be sown two weeks earlier, and can be 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


41 


gathered in two weeks earlier than before the fields were 
drained. Experience shows that for every $100 spent on 
proper drainage there is a return in increased and better 
conditioned crops of fully 25 per cent, profit. 

‘‘Experiments recently conducted at the experimental 
station, Uniontown, show that the average yield of corn off 
drained land was 36.84 bushels per acre, whereas the aver¬ 
age yield without drainage off the same land was only 24.02 
bushels per acre. Drainage, therefore, must be credited 
with the increase of 12.82 bushels to the acre, or 54.4 per 
cent., because the conditions were the same, and there was 
neither excessive rainfall nor drought during the season.” 

A farmer in Ontario, who won the sweepstake gold medal 
for the best farm in Ontario, says: 

“Good drainage will add at least one-third to the product 
of the soil. You can work your farm much earlier in 
spring, and it removes all stagnant water from your land.” 

But \yhy quote authorities ? Does not every farmer know 
how great the benefit derived from drainage ? Perhaps the 
wherewithal to do the work is not forthcoming? If it is 
good policy to borrow money at all, it is for drainage pur¬ 
poses. There is plenty of money can be got for about 6 per 
cent, on farm security, and if by draining his land the 
farmer can increase his products one-third, he might easily 
afford 6 per cent, for borrowed capital wherewith to increase 
his annual income. 


42 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


TABLE NO. 7. 


Proportional ratio of fall in inches every 10 feet. 


Rate of Fall. 

Decimal. 

Nearest 
Fraction, j 

Rate of Fall. 

Decimal. 

Nearest 

Fraction. 

1 in 5000. 

Inches. 

0.024 

Inches. 

1-40 

1 in 250. 

Inches. 

0.480 

Inches. 

1-2 

1 in 4000. 

0.030 

1-33 

1 in 200. 

0.600 

3-5 

1 in 3000 

0 040 

1-25 

1 in 150. 

0.800 

4-5 

1 in 2000. 

0.0(30 

1-17 

1 in 100. 

1.200 

1 1-5 

1 in 1000 

0.120 

0 134 

1-8 

1 in 90. 

1.334 

1 1-3 

1 in 900 

2-15 

1 in 80. 

1.500 

1 1-2 

1 in 800 

0.150 

0 172 

1-7 

1 in 70. 

1.714 

1 7-10 

1 in 700 

1-6 

1 in 60. 

2.000 

2 

1 in fiftO 

0.200 

0 240 

1-5 

1 in 50. 

2.400 

2 2-5 

1 in 500 

1-4 

1 in 40. 

3.000 

3.0 

1 in 450 

0 267 

4-15 

1 in 30. 

4.000 

4.0 

1 in 400 

0 300 

3-10 

1 in 20. 

6.000 

6.0 

1 in 350 

0 343 

1-3 

1 in 10. 

12.000 

12.0 

1 in 300. 

0.400 

2-5 





When it is difficult to get a leveler or land surveyor, as 
it often is in places where farmers are situated, a good 

*S'idc JSncL 



JSL 


ia.:£tr 




Fig. J 


enough method for obtaining the falls of drains can be ex- 
temporized thus: Obtain a pine scantling a little over 10 
feet in length and about 4x4 inches in size, and plane it 
down to an even thickness, and make it exactly 10 feet long, 
as shown in Fig. 1. Now procure two rests, like the one 
illustrated in Fig. 2, much like two saw-horses, and rest the 
scantling (illustrated in Fig. 1) upon them at some place in 
the held or land requiring to be drained. Then, with an 
ordinary mason’s level, set the scantling by means of push¬ 
ing the rests down firmly level. By screwing in sm^ill 
nickel-headed screws or driving bright-headed tacks into 



























































43 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

the top of the scantling at A and B, the top of the scant¬ 
ling being level, you can sight between the two tacks or 
screws, the same as you would between the back and fore¬ 
sight of a rifle, and this line produced is practically a level 
line. We say practically a level line, because there is an 
allowance must be made for the earth’s curvature when the 
sight extends to a distance. This allowance for curvature 
is always added to the fall, and amounts to about 8 inches 
in a mile, and only 2 inches in a half mile, and it is always 
proportional to the square of the distance. 



" 3 I 

s 


Let C D represent the surface of a field. If our scant¬ 
ling (see Figs. 1 and 2) be set up level in the neighborhood 
of C, and a 10-foot pole be held at D, the height of the 
scantling being 5 feet, and the sight through the two tacks 
or screws in the scantling striking the pole just one foot 
below the top, the point D is four feet lower than the scant¬ 
ling near C. Upon measuring between the two points we 
find that from C to D is 1,000 feet, wherefore the fall is 
1 in 250. 

^sTow, to lay out the drain, we take about a score of sticks 
or palings about 5 or 0 feet long, with a cross-piece nailed 
on each (as illustrated in S S, Fig. 3). Then we stick into 
the side of the scantling (illustrated in Fig. 1) at B, at right 























44 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


angles, a common pin, just so far below the level top as is 
given in Table No. 7, applicable to the fall ; and as this has 
been found to be 1 in 250, the distance from the top of the 
scantling at the end B is half an inch. Now, when we bring 
the foresight at A—which should be moved to the top cor¬ 
ner—in line with the pin at B, we sight the line X X, Fig. 
3. If the sticks or palings (S S, Fig. 3) be driven in at a 
number of points between C and D until the tops of the 
cross-pieces be all in the line X X, then X X is parallel to 
the drain to be built. The reason of this is because we 
have marked out a similar triangle on the scantling to that 
which a level line would form with the proposed drain. If 
the proposed drain is to be 5 feet deep, said number of feet 
is added to the distance from the surface of the ground to 
the top of each cross-piece on the line X X, shown in Fig. 
2, less 5 feet. These depths should be marked on a peg 
driven into the ground on either side of the sticks or 
palings, to prevent the drainers, in their work, from disturb¬ 
ing them. These sticks with cross-pieces on them are called 
“ boning rods” by drainers. On account of the inequalities 
of the surface of the ground it is seldom that the “cuts” 
will be all 5 feet deep for a 5-feet drain. Some will be 4 
feet 6 inches, some 5 feet 6 inches, and others 4 feet 11 
inches. What is required is that the drain shall be exactly 
parallel to the line X X, illustrated in Fig. 3. Every drain, 
or section of a drain, must be laid on a true gradient down¬ 
ward to the outlet. A practical drainer, or one of the farm¬ 
er’s own family, can very readily lay out any ordinary drain 
as well as an engineer. In most parts of the country a lev- 
eler or surveyor can be got to lay out drains. There is 
hardly any necessity for a civil engineer to be employed for 
so simple a job, unless the drain or drains are intended to 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


45 


form a part of an extensive scheme, and then a practical 
civil engineer should be consulted. Be sure and get a prac¬ 
tical one. An impractical professor won’t do. 

For the sake of brevity, in keeping with the idea at the 
start, this chapter now draws to a close. 

It is well known that the center of population of the 
United States has been gradually moving westward since 
1790, until now it has reached close to Cincinnati, Ohio. 
The population follows the virgin soils. 

Many districts in the older settlements have become ex¬ 
hausted by overcropping. We need but keep our eyes open, 
as we pass through the country, to see thousands of acres in 
the older settlements lying waste. If we can do a little 
towards inducing people to properly drain and cultivate 
these extensive tracts of worn-out lands we shall have accom¬ 
plished a great work, and we think it can be done with 
great profit. 


CHAPTER II. 


It were waste labor to tell the farmer how to increase the 
products of his farm, unless facilities for transportation were 
provided. As agriculture lies at the foundation, so does 
cheap transportation form no inconsiderable item in the 
farmer’s prosperity. The matter of building railroads is no 
longer a question that engages the attention of the few, but 
there is not a section of country between California and 
Nova Scotia, between the Southern States and the frozen 
North, but men can be found who understand building 
them economically and scientifically. No railroad, through 
any ordinary tract of country, ought to cost for building 
and equipping more than $20,000 per mile. The farmers 
of one or two States or Territories could, without much dif¬ 
ficulty, organize themselves into a company, subscribe for 
the stock, and build and own their own railroad. There 
are very few railroads built through a reasonably fertile 
country but pay a good dividend on their actual cost, if con¬ 
structed with a view of serving the interests of the people. 

We will illustrate what we mean by supposing the line to 
be built 100 miles long between the two ends. The line, at 
$20,000 per mile, would cost, including everything, about 
$2,000,000. Say the shares were fixed at $20 each, and 
each farmer could take as many or few shares, up to 1,000, 
as he pleased, which shares, at 10 per cent, paid up, would 
put us in possession of $200,000, an ample sum to pay for 



47 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

all legitimate preliminary work, location, legislation, etc. 
If required, the whole of the remaining 90 per cent, would 
he subject to “call” as the work progressed. For one 
share the farmer would pay not more than $20, and 100,000 
shares sold would realize ample funds to build and equip 
the line. Thus, a line could be had and independent facili¬ 
ties secured by the farmers occupying a State or Terri¬ 
tory, which could be operated Iry themselves in their own 
interests. The board of directors might be annually nom¬ 
inated and elected by the “grange” or body of farmers 
occupying the district or territory. Some years ago a cer¬ 
tain section of Canada was without railroad facilities. It 
contained a large number of farmers whose only means of 
reaching the nearest market was by team. The council of 
one of the counties met and voted a bonus of $250,000 to a 
company for building them a railroad. This was equal to 
the sum of $5,555 per mile. The government subsidized 
the line to the extent of $6,000 per mile, so that there was 
available $11,555 per mile. The line cost but $16,000 per 
mile to build, so that the sum of $4,445 per mile was all the 
company spent in construction. Now, why did not the 
farmers receive the government subsidy and build the line 
themselves ? To-day they would have had a good piece of 
paying property, and could have controlled and managed it 
in the way most conducive to their own interests, instead of 
which a large, powerful monopoly controls it, and manages 
it in the company’s interest. 

The remedy is in the hands of the farmers. Your inter- 
•/ 

ests are greater than those of any other class. You hold 
the majority, not only of wealth but of votes. It seems 
hardly necessary to name the remedy. 

This chapter will end, for the sake of brevity, with a 


48 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


summary of the remarks of an intelligent writer in the Chi¬ 
cago Tribune , of January last, entitled 

Corporation Wrecking. 

He says : “ Corporations are wrecked— 

“1. By an official interest in the profits of railroad con- 

t j 1 

struction companies, and by making contracts with them 
which are to the disadvantage of the corporation. 

“2. By directorial interest in other railroads or corpora¬ 
tions with running arrangements; consolidations and other 
agreements are made to the detriment of the common stock¬ 
holders. 

“ 3. By complicated systems of bookkeeping, which, 
though not technically fraudulent, are misleading and decep¬ 
tive. 

“ 4. By the withholding of regular reports, statements and 
information for unfair advantages, and of which, in the 
absence of special legislation, common law does not take 
cognizance. 

O 

“5. By. false reports, put forth in an unofficial manner 
for individual advantage. 

‘‘6. By commissions and.presents received by auditors 
and purchasing agents from parties of whom purchases are 
made. 

“ 7. By manipulation in the stock market, by means of 
combination or conspiracy among the managers, to the un¬ 
fair disadvantage of other proprietors. 

“ The direct sufferers from official misconduct are private 
stockholders and investors, and from these classes untold 
millions have been extorted to swell the coffers of the few 
who are 4 inside,’ especially in mining enterprises. The 
most necessary and honorable business of building and oper- 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


49 


ating a railroad lias come to be properly looked upon as a 
‘scheme,’ or even a ‘game,’ in which the management play 
with loaded dice. Those who win in these financial frames 
are ‘ brilliant operators ’ and ‘ Napoleons of finance,’and are 
imitated and envied by a numerous and ambitious following. 
Ring management is an incubus on legitimate enterprise, and 
an active, demoralizing element which is antagonistic to the 
very foundation of our social system. It furnishes the stock 
in trade of the socialist and anarchist, and is the keenest 
weapon which is wielded by all the impractical sentimentalists 
who wish to bring on the 4 coming revolution,’ and to destroy 
our present form of government. Many socialists and sen¬ 
timentalists affirm that if our government were made more 
paternal in its character, and would adopt and absorb the 
business of our great corporations, abuses of all sorts would 
virtually come to an end. All such reasoning is thoroughly 
fallacious, for (were it otherwise practicable), instead of any 
such desirable result, there would be an arnry of political 
abuses added to the present array of evils. The beautiful 
ideal which pictures the government as a great, immaculate 
personalty in economic management, is rudely shocked by 
the actuality which finds that its active factors are embodied 
in selfish and scheming politicians. 

“It seems evident that some system of governmental 
control is needed to include the following: 

“ 1. The compulsory making and issuing of monthly re¬ 
ports in a uniform manner and after a prescribed formula, 
the correctness of which should be affirmed by the oath of 
one or more directors. 

“2. A removal of the reports from the possibility of 
interested coloring. 


50 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

“3. Enforce all the usual moral obligations that apper¬ 
tain to trusteeship. 

“4. Construe as bribery the receiving of any commissions 
or presents by any auditor, purchasing agent or official* 
which are given because of his official position. 

“ 5. That it shall be unlawful, with heavy penalties at¬ 
tached, for any corporate official or manager to buy the 
stock of the company, except for the purpose of investment, 
nor shall he sell the same unless he be the actual owner of 
the amount sold, and make a delivery of it ; and he shall 
neither buy nor sell except after prescribed public notice. 

“ 6. Require affidavits, at stated intervals, from each offi¬ 
cial and manager that he is not and will not make any specu¬ 
lative sales or purchases indirectly of the stock of his corpo¬ 
ration, and that he has no interest in any such transactions 
' «./ 

which are made through any third parties.” 


CHAPTER 111. 


The subject of village, town and city drainage is so inti¬ 
mately connected with farm drainage that we offer no 
apology for introducing it here, keeping to our idea upon 
undertaking this little work that “brevity is the soul of 
wit,” and “boiling down” to a single chapter all that is 
definitely known upon the subject of sewerage. 

It rnav be at once stated that the most economical wav of 
•' •/ 

draining farm buildings and most villages is to carry all 
the water away to the most convenient natural outlet—to 
some place in the neighborhood where the general drainage 
of the district empties itself—by a system of drains, and 
keeping all the excreta, fluid and feculent matters, etc., for 
manuring purposes. We are of the opinion, from extended 
observations, that the “dry earth closet system” of deodor- 
ization would probably be the most economical, and fill the 
conditions of preserving the health and lives of people liv- 
inh in villages or suburban, or even urban, districts, more 
nearly than any other. 

It would be economical, because the gardens or orchards 
in the vicinity would utilize the productions of the water 
closets, urinals and cesspools with immense benefit. A 
movable, water-tight box or vessel placed in the water closet 
to receive the excreta, etc., where, as often as used, dry 
earth or ashes could be taken out of a receptacle provided 
for them in the closet, and a few shovelfuls thrown upon 


52 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


them as occasion might require. If a couple of railway 
rails, or pieces of oak in place of rails, were put down, and 
the box or vessel to receive the excreta, etc., set on small 
flanged wheels, it could be, provided a door was made in 
one side of the closet, easily run out and emptied when 
necessary, and its contents carted away and the box re¬ 
placed. There is scarcely any smell from this mixture, and 
in a very short time it is completely deodorized. 

In towns and cities, on account of the denseness of the 
buildings, it is seldom that the “ dry earth closets” are prac¬ 
tical. It, therefore, often becomes necessary to construct a 
system of sewers. 

The first point to establish, as in all drainage works, is the 
position of the outlet. In seacoast towns, of course, we find 
a point where, from the movement of the tides, currents, 
eddies, etc., the sewage will be carried out to sea and never 
be brought back again to pollute the beach or vicinity. 
Such a point can generally be found by an expert in a few T 
days. This constitutes the best of all outlets. Hitherto 
there has not been any device suggested or proposed where¬ 
by the agricultural constituents of the sewage can be elim¬ 
inated so as to leave a profit from the operation. 

The next best outlets are undoubtedly the inland seas or 
lakes or large rivers. The main things to guard against are 
(1) the return of the sewage by storms or currents, to be 
thrown upon or against the shores and banks bordering on 
the lakes or rivers in close proximity to the city or town to 
be sewered ; (2) the pollution of the air or drinking water by 
the noxious effluvia, or by mixing their deadly germs with 
the source of supply. As North America is so situated that 
large lakes and rivers abound, and, for the purposes of com¬ 
merce, most of the larger cities are located on their shores, 


53 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

consequently, an expert has generally little difficulty in the 
selection of a suitable outlet. If the sewage is to be emptied 
into a lake the principal thing to determine in the first 
place, and one, most times, of easy attainment, is to find the 
direction of the currents, whether caused by storms, winds, 
etc., or by some peculiarity in the formation of its shores. 
After this has been determined, find a position for the out- 
let, where the sewage would never come back to pollute the 
shores, or find its way into the drinking water. In large 
rivers, as the St. Lawrence, Mississippi, Missouri, etc., the 
outlets are much easier found, for when the sewage is once 
in the river it is carried down by the current, and the only 
thing to guard against is the pollution of the air or drink¬ 
ing water of a community of people living below, some¬ 
where on its course to the sea. Proper investigation by an 
expert will show whether any community living below on 
the river will be injured by the sewage as it passes along. 
A competent civil engineer should always be appointed 
with full control over works of this kind, where the lives 
and safety of the inhabitants depend upon the work being 
well done. It may be laid down as a fact, about which 
there can be no controversy, that improperly constructed or 
badly ventilated sewers are worse than none at all. 

The intelligent aldermen, counselors and mayors of cities 
or towns can always very materially assist a practical engi¬ 
neer by their suggestions and even counsel, and if they 
would observe the simple operations of nature they might 
correct his errors of judgment; but their business pursuits 
and training generally preclude their acquiring experimental 
knowledge of sanitary and civil engineering. We have 
observed in the long course of experience that, in North 
America at least, the chief engineer of works is converted 


54 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

into merely an executive officer to carry out the directions 

and orders of committees of the corporations. The idea 

prevailing seems to be that the members of civic or other 

governing bodies being elected to guard the public interest, 

therefore they should direct and control the execution of 
«/ 

public works as well—that the election itself imparted to 
them greater knowledge than they had before—instead of 
leaving the design and execution of works to responsible 
salaried experts. It stands to reason where salaried officers 
are relieved of all responsibility by being made like mere 
wheels in a machine, that the committees who direct and 
“Control engineering operations should understand something 
of the governing principles of the science. We therefore 
present the following facts from acknowledged authorities 
on sanitation. We deal with observed facts, not theories, 
-and do not account for the how or why they are so. We 
assert that wherever filth and dirt are found, there also are 
found the elements of disease. There are already many 
works in print, many of them scientific, many unscientific, 
which any one of leisure can examine and cull out, perhaps, 
clearer, briefer, and sounder sanitary maxims. But this 
little book is for common men who have not time to study 
the larger treatises, and, besides, we feel like an}^ other man 
who writes a book, that this one will fill a gap in the num¬ 
berless books already written. 

A pure water supply is an indispensable element. Before 
any sewerage works are begun this necessary life-giving 
element should be secured. 

First, make an analysis of the water supply. Any good 
analytical chemist will be able to tell whether the water is 
pure and healthy or not. 

“It is now certain that an impure water supply may be 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


55 


the cause of terrible outbreaks of cholera, typhoid fever, 
dysentery, and other allied disorders, but even doubts are 
widely entertained whether these diseases, or some of them, 
can possibly attain general prevalence in a town except 
where the faulty water supply develops them.”—[Extract 
from Dr. Simon’s report to the Privy Council, 1869. 

When disease is prevalent, and the diagnosis points to 
blood poisoning as the cause, it is well to remember that 
disease is often caused by excremental pollution- of the soil. 
Water is poisoned by leaky sewers. 

Sewage should not, under any circumstances, be allowed 
to leak through a sewer to poison the soil of our streets, or 
render the rainfall, which is pure when it leaves the clouds, 
the messenger of death. 

“ Natural streams should not be arched over to form main 
sewers, because a natural stream may drain a district very 
much larger than the area built over, and consequently a 
culvert (or sewer) of capacity to remove flood waters 'in a 
wet season would be comparatively dry during a dry season, 
and any sewage there flowing in it would stagnate and evap¬ 
orate, causing nuisance.”—[Sir P. Rawlinson, Ch. Engr. 
Tmpi. Govt. Board. 

Besides this, if the sewer were constructed small enough 
to carry the sewage only, it would not be large enough to 
carry the natural water of the district drained by it during 
floods, and then, those whose lands, either inside or outside 
of the town, originally drained by the stream, would have 
recourse to the courts for redress. The} 7 would be entitled 
to damages caused by said floods,' for the common law— 
which is common sense—allows no corporation or individual 
the right to impede or obstruct the natural drainage, and 
cause damage to private interests. 


/ . 




56 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


We do not think it necessary to say more on the subject 
of water supply. This manual is confined to the subject of 
drainage to a large degree. Water works for the supply of 
towns and cities being subject to the laws of pure hydrau¬ 
lics, and not so complicated as the subject of general drain¬ 
age, will form the matter of a subsequent manual. 

Drainage as a Preventive of Disease. 

The records of English sanitary works, according to the 
medical health officers of the privy council, show that prop¬ 
erly constructed sewers reduced the rate of mortality from 
typhoid fever 50 per cent., and from phthisis 30 per cent., 
and the total of lives saved from drainage works lias been 
fully 18 per cent. 

“ Statistical investigations made by Prof. Pettenkofer 
show us that for every case of death in public institutions 
for the sick there are thirty-four cases of serious illness, so 
that' the unnecessary deaths must be multiplied by that 
number in order to give you the minimum cases of prevent¬ 
able sickness. These cases of sickness last, on the average, 
18 J days/’—[From Dr. Lyon Playfair’s address, delivered 
in Glasgow, 1874. 

In his inaugural address, as President of the Society of 
Civil Engineers, Mr. B. Latham informed us that in twenty 
years a sum exceeding £531,375 had been saved, in the esti¬ 
mated value of lives saved, as a result of his sanitary engi¬ 
neering. 

Dr. Chamberlain reports, from a conversation with Dr. 
Richardson, Acting Secretary of the State Board of Health 
of Massachusetts, “ That there tliev never have a fatal case 
of scarlet fever or diphtheria without finding some cause for 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


57 


it in defective drainage, ventilation, or bad sewerage of the 
dwelling.” 


Sewers Should be Self-Cleansing. 

The prevailing opinion that brick sewers, on account of 
their roughness on the inside, retarded the velocity of the 
contents to such an extent as to cause them to choke up, is 
founded in error. 

The only way to prevent deposits on the inside of any 
sewer is to give it a proper fall. 

Both brick sewers and pipe sewers are equally subject to 
be blocked by the sewage if sufficient fall is not provided. 

The gradients of sewers must be so proportioned that the 
sewage flowing down grade through them must have suffi¬ 
cient velocity to prevent any settlement of the particles held 
in suspension. 

About 3 feet per second for main sewers, and 5 feet per 
second for small sewers, will prevent settlement of their 
contents if this velocity is kept up constantly. 

The velocity which does the work is that at the bottom 
of a sewer, which is less than the mean velocity.—[See 
Prony’s experiments. 

It seems hardly necessary to say that the laws of gravita¬ 
tion control all motion. A sewer without a fall can give no 
motion to sewage. Sewers or drains without fall will 
eventually be choked with their contents. Hot later than 
1885, we were gravely told by one of the city authorities in 
London, Out., that the question of fall did not matter 
much when pipe sewers were used. In February, 1886, the 
following spring, the London Free Press said: “ Public 
sewers have been laid with so little fall that it has been 
found necessary, already, in many of the latest constructed 


58 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

ones, to have them opened up and cleaned of the solid mat¬ 
ter which they contain, which effectually prevented the flow 
through them.” 

By experiments, we find dirty water will not flow with 
the same velocity as clean water through the same channel. 
The veloeitv varies with the amount of solid matter held in 

«j 

suspension. Hence molasses has a much slower velocity 
than water. Practical sewer engineers construct their own 
tables of velocities, the data being their own experience and 
observations, as the density is always in proportion to the 
solids held in suspension, and necessarily varies in different 
towns and cities. 

Sewer Pipes. 

% 

Every pipe for use in sewer work should be submitted to 
the analvsis of the best analvtical chemist in the town or 
city to be sewered. He should report upon its material. 
It should be practically impervious, and not subject to be 
injuriously acted upon by sewage in any degree. Earthen¬ 
ware pipes, salt glazed, are generally the best for all situa¬ 
tions. Sewers up to 18 inches in diameter may be used in 
all situations, but if larger pipe-sewers are required, they 
should be laid in a bed of concrete for safety, as, in some 
kinds of soil, they require its supporting power to prevent 
probable collapse. Every sewer should be practically water 
tight from end to beginning, as the soil of our streets is 
often polluted by leaky sewers, and the effluvium disengaged 
is nauseous. 

Portland cement, nearly pure, should be used for jointing 
all sewer pipes. 

The pipes themselves may be made of Portland cement 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


r> 9 


and screened gravel. Use the cement 2 parts to one of 
gravel. 

Putty should never be used to make joints. Lead pipes 
are subject to the injurious chemical action of acids and lime. 

All lead pipes should have lead joints. Zinc pipes are 
certain to fail when subjected to the chemical action of 
sewage, and therefore are never used in first-class sewer 
work. 

Bricks. 

It has been found by experience in London, England, 
that the inverts of brick sewers wear out first. This is ac¬ 
cording to the well known fact that the effective velocity is 
at the bottom of a sewer, and the scouring action of sewage 
tends to wear it out at the bottom first. 

The verv soundest bricks should be selected for sewer 
•/ 

work. Those made from what brickmakers call “strong 
clay” are usually the sounder. They should have a metal¬ 
lic ring when two of them are struck together, and the 
harder burnt should be selected for the inverts of the sew¬ 
ers. Those partly vitrified by the action of the fire should 
be chosen, and, when laid with plenty of good Portland ce¬ 
ment, will make sewers practically water tight. Brick 
work should be protected from water till the cement has 
thoroughly set, otherwise the soluble parts of the cement 
may be washed out, and the sewer held together with noth¬ 
ing but a rope of sand. A man can readily pick out the 
joints with his fingers when water gets admission to brick 
work where the Portland cement used in it has not set; but 
let it set first, and then it takes a cold chisel to remove it. 
This will account for the failure of some sewers built in 
these parts recently. 


60 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


* Cement. 

Asphaltum is good for making joints, but Portland ce¬ 
ment is most generally used. 

The failure of some brick work in sewers may be account¬ 
ed for by the chemical action of sewage on some kinds of 
cement. Some sorts of cement are chemically changed in 
their properties when they come into contact with acids, 
ammonia, etc., found in sewage, and the sewer has nothing 
but the sand in its joints, which a man can easily pick out 
with his knife. 

A good Portland cement will bear a tensile strain per 
square inch, after being set seven days, of 350 pounds, and 
weigh about 112 pounds per bushel. It has the invaluable 
property of neither deteriorating by age or climate when 
kept dry. 

The following is the usual ordinary composition of a 
good, sound Portland cement, according to D. L. Collins, 
Esq., of England: 


Lime. 58.80 

Silica. 21.70 

Alumina. 9.82 

Oxide Iron.. 3.78 

Sulphuric Acid. 1.57 

Alkalies. 0.50 

Magnesia.. 1.04* 

Moisture. 2.79 


100.00 

A cement so composed, no matter by whom, will invari¬ 
ably give satisfaction in sewer work. 

We wish to impress upon those who may read this man- 











MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


61 


ual the importance of getting a good cement for all sewer 
works. However good a cement might be for hydraulic 
works in general, it may be totally unfit for sewer works 
on account of the well-known chemical action of sewage 
upon certain substances. 

There are many spurious cements passed off for Portland 
cement, and here, where the protective tariff raises the 
price of cement to the consumer, it is as well to be sure of 
the quality of what you buy. 

Ventilation. 

The new remedy for noxious gases and foul air is dilution 
and dispersion by means of ventilation. 

The gases in sewers, and the foul, fetid vapors, com¬ 
posing the miasma of organic corruption, are absolutely 
deadly under certain conditions if not mixed with a large 
proportion of pure atmospheric air. 

Even small-pox virus may be sufficiently diluted with air 
or water to be innocuous, and fevers cease to be contagious 
when we do not shut out of our houses and hospitals the air 
which has been so plenteously provided for us, as was proven 
by experiments of Dr. Fordyce years ago. 

The proceedings of the Royal Society of April, 1877, 
contain a paper written by Dr. Percy Frankland, referring 
to “ the transport of solid and liquid particles of sewer 
gases,” giving as the cause of an outbreak of cholera which 
occurred in Southampton, Eng., in 1886, as the late Pro¬ 
fessor Parkes said, “The dispersion of infected sewage 
through the air, produced by the pumping of the infected 
sewage and its discharge in a frothy condition down an open 
channel 8 to 9 feet long. The effluvium disengaged by this 
seething mass was overpowering. A virulent epidemic of 


62 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

Asiatic cholera broke out in a few days afterwards. 107 
persons died from cholera in the neighborhood in a fort¬ 
night, after which a closed pipe was substituted, and the 
cholera abated, and the epidemic was virtually over.” 

This would indicate that open channels for the convey¬ 
ance of sewage are very dangerous. Contrary to the opinion 
expressed by an Eastern man, “ that when sewers are open 
and near the surface, the sewage is then acted upon by the 
sun’s rays and rendered harmless,” we believe that an open 
sewer is an abomination. The idea that the action of the 
sun’s rays would render harmless the abominable stench that 
would arise from the rapid evaporation of the sewage, seems 
to us absurd and not worth arguing about. 

Ventilation is affected by temperature. A change of 
temperature will often develop such an expansion of the air 
in a sewer as to force, with resistless pressure, the traps of 
house drains. 

Whether the temperature of the contents of sewers is 
increased by what is poured into them, or the temperature 
outside is increased by the sun’s rays, the effect is equally 
dangerous, for when the inside is warmer than the outside, 
of course the air inside expands, and when the air is warmer 
outside than it is inside of a sewer, the air outside expands; 
this mechanical action, continually going on, has the effect 
of pushing out and drawing in, or of alternately compress¬ 
ing and dilating the air of a sewer, and, if provision is not 
made for letting foul air escape and admitting a supply to 
take its place, the imprisoned air will escape at points of 
least resistance, viz., into the houses, as 1,000 cubic inches 
of dry air at 32° Fall, swells in bulk to 1,100 cubic inches 
when the temperature is increased to 82° Fall., or ten per 
cent. 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


63 


There are other things, such as the fluctuation in the vol¬ 
ume of sewage at certain times, which causes compressions 
and dilations of the air in a sewer, and renders ventilation 
necessary, but the expansions and contractions of the air 
from changes ol temperature are so universal, and con¬ 
stantly recurring, that it seems almost a waste of time to 
refer to it at all. * 

It surely but needs common sense to tell us that, if air 
expands by heat, and is confined within a boiler, the air, 
when heated and expanding beyond the resisting power of 
the boiler, will force its way out at points of least resistance ; 
so, if a sewer holds air imprisoned in like manner, it will 
force its way into our houses by unsealing the traps of our 
house drains. 

Increase of temperature causes the gases accompanying 
decomposition, which is then more rapid, to escape. Hence, 
heat increases bad smells in a sewer, and cold lessens them. 

Dr. Marcy, of New York, says : “ There are many days 

and nights, during the summer months especially, when our 
city is almost uninhabitable by the dreadful stench. Even 
closing the windows on hot and sultry summer nights does 
not exclude the poisonous smells which penetrate every¬ 
where, lurk in every place, and sow the seed broadcast of 
typhus, dysentery, cholera infantum, and the like.” 

Dr. Hammond, of the same city, says: “The sickening 
character of the emanations in question is so indisputable 
that I do not suppose it will be denied by any one who has 
been subjected to the horrible stench ; it oppresses us in the 
streets, disgusts us in our moments of relaxation, and, worst 
of all, it nauseates us at our meals.” 

If people would remember that the natural law of gravi¬ 
tation is not suspended for anybody’s benefit, that this very 




64 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


general and simple operation of nature governs all cases of 
ventilation, and that the varying weights of air at different 
altitudes and temperatures are the sole cause of currents 
entering and escaping from sewers as well as buildings, we 
should not have a badly ventilated sewer, building, church, 
hall, theatre, or other public building in our land. 

Neither systems of forcing air into nor drawing air out 
of sewers, as experiments have demonstrated, can have any¬ 
thing but a very limited effect. The experiments of Sir 
Joseph W. Bazalgette, C. E., Colonel Hey wood, C. E., and 
numerous other able experts in sanitary science, have amply 
shown the futility and impracticability of extracting foul 
gases from sewers by furnaces, fans, and all such appliances, 
as their good effects are very limited. 

Sir R. Rawlinson, Chief Engineer Government Board in 
England, has demonstrated that all main sewers should be 
ventilated at regular intervals of not more than 500 feet, or 
there will be great danger of their becoming Hues, up which 
the poisonous gases will rise through the house drains to find 
their outlets in the connected houses. He also remarks that 
tall chimneys, steam boilers, furnaces, etc., may do some 
good in short lengths of sewer, but they cannot be depended 
upon to do service corresponding to their cost and danger, 
as sewers cannot be ventilated as coal mines are. 

An alderman, in 1886, got this motion through the 
Toronto, Canada, City Council: “ That the fire and gas 

committee do take into consideration the advisability of 
bringing in a Bill to provide that hereafter all persons erect¬ 
ing steam engines in the city be required to connect the 
draught of the boiler with the public sewer, for the purpose 
of improving the ventilation of sewers.” This motion was 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


65 


adopted, but whether the bill has been brought before the 
legislature or not, we know not. 

Pipes carried up to the gable ends of houses may be sub¬ 
stituted for street ventilation in some cases, but their diam¬ 
eters must be at least 6 inches, and they must be located 
about every hundred feet, and they must in no case termi¬ 
nate near a window, chimney, or other opening, because, in 
that position, they would sometimes bring sewer air into the 
houses instead of taking it away. 

It has been shown us that charcoal is both a deodorizer 
and a disinfectant; therefore, if the ventilator up to the 
gable end of the house were strapped with a tray of char¬ 
coal, the danger, if not altogether removed, would be 
greatly diminished. Dr. Letheby says: “Chemists have 
hitherto failed to separate and identify the miasma of or¬ 
ganic corruption, but charcoal absorbs and oxidizes the 
miasma of decomposition when, with air, t.he} T are passed 
over it.” 

Those who have paid attention to and investigated mete¬ 
orological phenomena cannot have failed to observe that 
every current of air leaves a partial vacuum in its rear, as 
shown by M. Venturi in 1797; hence, there ought always 
to be two openings where the air, without hindrance, could 
come in and go out of house drains, one near the surface of 
the ground on the outside of the house, and the other at the 
top of the house, but not near the chimney. 

Sewerage cannot change the conditions of bad ventilation, 
but may make them worse by conducting the poisonous 
gases into our houses. 

This brief summary deals principally with sewers built 
large enough to convey away the excreta, slops, water in 
cellars, and all the fluid and feculent refuse of dwellings, 


66 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

with a portion of the rainfall ; but there is another system, 
called the “ separate system,” which is usually adopted by 
towns and cities having no place to empty the sewage where 
it will no more become a nuisance. 

To turn the sewage into a small river or stream, and pol¬ 
lute it to such an extent as to do injury to the general 
health of the people of the district and lead to numerous 
actions for damages, would, of course, be out of the ques¬ 
tion. In cases of this kind, drains to carry away the rain¬ 
fall only, should be constructed, and separate sewers for the 
conveyance of the sewage to a sewage farm ought to be 
built. The sewage farm should be selected at some place a 
distance from the city, and the soil, if practicable, should be 
of a porous nature to admit of downward filtration. As the 
principle of broad irrigation, combined with downward* fil¬ 
tration, is pre-eminently suited for the disposal of sewage 
where better methods cannot be obtained, but, according to 
the highest authorities, among them the keenest intellects, 
# there has been hitherto no method whereby, from a financial 
standpoint, the fertilizing elements of sewage can be ab¬ 
stracted from sewage and put on the market with profit. 

Where it is settled to have a sewage farm, plenty of land 
should be taken to guard against saturation. 

All sewers should be regularly flushed with plenty of 
water. This is indispensable. Not a few buckets of water 
here and there thrown into the sewer, or any ordinary flush¬ 
ing with the hose will do, but by impounding a quantity of 
water and suddenly liberating it. The volume of water so 
liberated should be in proportion to the size and the work 
to be done in the sewer. 

In 1884 we were called upon to design and construct a 
system of sewers for the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The 


67 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 

city plot is almost a dead level, so that in order to obtain a 
proper velocity for the sewage we were compelled to dig the 
trenches for the sewers over ten feet deeper near the out¬ 
falls than at their upper ends. The sewage at present emp¬ 
ties into the Red River, which runs by the city at an aver¬ 
age velocity of over three miles an hour. 

In our last printed report it is written: “I must call 
your attention again to the great importance of keeping the 
sewers flushed with plenty of water. Without this they 
will become simply breeding places for infectious diseases. 
As I 1 iave pointed out before in previous reports, a daily 
supply of water for flushing purposes is necessary, so that 
each day’s sewage may be removed from the city on the day 
of its production, and pass off before decomposition sets in, 
and not allowed to settle and fester in the sewers.” And 
“ To say, as some citizens have said, ‘ that sewers should not 
be built in a year or two, but should be built gradually, so 
as to give employment to home labor through many succes¬ 
sive years,’ is just one of those remarkable fallacies attend¬ 
ing the opinions of men ignorant of simple sanitary matters, 
though learned in many other respects. It is nearly equiva¬ 
lent to saying that typhoid fever, diphtheria, and all forms 
of zymotic disease should not be got rid of in a short time, 
but should be banished gradually so as to further the sale of 
drugs and medical attendance through many successive 
years.’ ’ 

If sewers were designed and built by the gods they would 
not operate themselves. Like a watch they want occasional 
winding up and cleaning. The fact of their being able to 
do a certain work does not invest them with thinking and 
living attributes. The man who forgets to wind up his 


68 


MANUAL OF DRAINAGE. 


watch and, finding it stopped, blames the watchmaker, is 
not more unreasonable than some civic bodies in our land. 

In conclusion, we say that it is not the robust man, who 
can eat, drink and sleep anywhere, and under any circum¬ 
stances, who suffers, as a general thing, from foul air and 
gases escaping from sewers, but it is the weak invalids and 
little children who cannot help themselves. The cause of so 
many pains and sufferings, anxious watchings and heart¬ 
aches, might be prevented. 

What a multitude of little children might be saved! 
Those whose bright lives fade from the earth by cholera 
infantum, etc., would be with us to-day with their rippling 
laughter to cheer us on our way. 

America is the grave of little children ! 

People will never awake to the importance of sanitary 
matters until the duty of sanitation is incorporated in our 
laws. And why may it not be so? The greatest of all 
human legislators, who, in addition to his duties of com¬ 
mander-in-chief, after having led victoriously 3,000,000 of 
slaves to freedom, gave them sanitary laws which wo might 
adopt to-day with immense benefit. 


f 


I N D EX. 


Pages 

Acres. 9 

Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas. 9 

Bazalgette, Sir J. W., C. E... 64 

Bricks for Sewers. 59 

Blith, Captain . 29 

British Columbia. 9 

California, Colorado, Connecticut. 9 

Cement, D. L. Collins’ formula. 60 

Cubic feet of water. 21 

Chamberlain, Dr. 56 

Cities, Sewerage of. 51 

Dakota. 9 

Delaware. 9 

Drainage, Farm and Land. 10 

Drainage, Village, Town and City . 51 

Diagrams of Drainage.12, 27 

Earnings of Farmers. 10 

Estimated Cost of Drains...13, 29 

Florida.. 9 

Fordyce, Dr. 61 

Frankland, Dr. Percy. 61 

Georgia. 9 

Germination of Seeds . 31 

Hammond, Dr. 63 

Hey wood. Col., C. E. 64 

Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Indian Territory, Iowa. 9 

Implements for Taking Levels. 42 

Kansas, Kentucky. 9 

Latham, B., C. E . 56 

Letheby, Dr. 65 

Louisiana. 9 

London Free Press. 57 

Manitoba, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, 

Mississippi, Missouri, Montana.'. 9 




































70 


INDEX. 


Manitoba Drainage. 25 

Madden, Dr., on the Germination of Seeds. 31 

Marcy, Dr. 63 

Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New Hampshire, New Jersey, 

New Brunswick, New York, North Carolina, Northwest Ter¬ 
ritories, Nova Scotia. 9 

Ohio, Oregon, Ontario.:. 9 

Outfalls or Outlets.10, 51 

Parkes, Dr. 61 

Pennsylvania, Prince Edward Island. 9 

Petenkoffer, Dr ... 56 

Playfair, Dr. Lyon. 56 

Preventive of Disease. 56 

Products, Value of. 10 

Pipes for Sewers.. 58 

Rawlinson, Sir R., C. E. 55 

Rhode Island. 9 

Richardson, Dr. 56 

Self-cleansing Sewers. 57 

Sewerage . 51 

Separate System of Sewerage. 66 

Stevens on the Farm. 39 

SimoD, Dr. 55 

Tables for Drainage.20-25. 42 

Temperature. 9 

Tennessee, Texas. 9 

Toronto City Council. 64 

Transportation. 48 

Utah. 9 

Vermont, Virginia. 9 

Ventilation. 61 

Washington Territory, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming. 9 

Water Supply. 54 

Winnipeg Sewerage. 66 









































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